From one of my favorite Christmas movies...

"When Christmas time is over and presents put away, don't be sad
There'll be so much to treasure about this Christmas day and the fun we've had
So may happy feelings to celebrate with you
And, oh, the good times hurry by so fast,
But even when it's over there's something you can do to make Christmas last

Keep Christmas with you
All through the year,
When Christmas is over,
You can keep it near.
Think of this Christmas day
When Christmas is far away.
Keep Christmas with you
All through the year,
When Christmas is over,
Save some Christmas cheer.
These precious moments,Hold them very dear
And keep Christmas with you
All through the year.

Christmas means the spirit of giving
Peace and joy to you,
The goodness of loving,
The gladness of living;
These are Christmas too.
So, keep Christmas with you
All through the year,
When Christmas is over,
Save some Christmas cheer.
These precious moments,
Hold them very dear
And keep Christmas with you
All through the year."
(Christmas Eve on Sesame Street)

Buuuuuut, unlike the radio stations might lead you to believe, the Christmas season is not yet over!! The Christmas season lasts until the feast of the three kings on January 6th! So, continue eating cookies, partying it up, leaving the bathrooms dirty, or whatever it is you choose to do to celebrate.

I hope Santa was good to all this year!

The Second Week of Advent

So, here we are at the beginning of the second week of advent... but has your advent really started? or are you being swept away by the hustle and bustle of the commercialized Christmas? It seems that many people completely miss advent in their lives. Advent is a time of preparation, waiting, anticipation, and a time to sweep out the spiritual cobwebs in preparation for the Lord's coming. Does the world even realize that there is more to Christmas than santa and fruit cake... don't get me wrong, I can't wait for Aunt Mary Ann's fruit cake. (I really don't understand all the bad-mouthing of fruit cakes that happens at this time of year! Aunt Mary Ann's fruit cake lasts no more than a few days at our house.) Fruit cake aside, while you may have all your cookies made and all the presents wrapped, have you remembered your spititual preparations? We do not know the day or time... he will come at an hour we do not expect? Will we be ready?

Have a blessed Advent! Don't forget the reason for the season!

Selfless Advertising... because I can

Drexel University Chorus
Fall Concert Series:

December 2, 2007

Main Building - Main Auditorium
(32nd & Chestnut Streets)
3:00 PM (FREE!)

Featuring:

• Pueri Hebraeorum (Victoria)
• You that wont to my pipes sound (Morely)
• Ave Maria (Byrd)
• Christmas Cantata (Charpentier)
• Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord (arr. Moore)
• My Soul's Been Anchored in the Lord (Hogan)
• Two Blake Songs (Powell)
• Deep River (from "Jubilee Songs" of the United States of America)
• Witness (arr. Halloran)

December 7, 2007

Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square , PA 19348
7:00 PM and 8:00 PM

Featuring:

• selections from the previous list
• various christmas carols arranged for chorus

All three concerts promise to be wonderful (if I may say so myself :D) Hope to see you there!

home for the holidays...

Only two days of work this week! I have taken off on Wednesday... goal: get life back in some semblance of order (or start anyway... particularly by filing the large and still growing pile of bills... which also invovles paying my ever forgiving roommate several months of utilities).

This weekend I went to Thanksgiving dinner #1 at the Gardenville Hotel. We were late... the pies were still in the oven at planned blast-off time. We managed to arrive in the middle of dinner (with the green bean casserole, corn relish, and two egg-nog-pumpkin-pies). Dinner was lovely... and then the madness began... Seeing as my sister is the youngest in our generation on both sides of the family, I'm not used to having 30 little cousins running crazy around a reception hall... or anywhere for that matter. Although this is not the first family function I have attended, I still find them most intimidating! I'm starting to be able to recognize some of the kids but names are a whole different issue... with which even their own relatives seem to struggle at times. I played some ping-pong with some kid - name withheld due to lack of knowledge (although I think I heard it while we were playing). I nearly had my head taken off by child weilding pool stick... no idea who that was as I was busy ducking out of the way. The "older kids" stayed after most of the insanity died down and played a few games of pool... Aunt C (don't know who is and isn't ok with their names being used) even played a game or two with us.

Thanksgiving dinner #2A will be at my parents house... and there will be much peace and quiet... well, peace and quiet may be a stretch but there will be much less running around in circles for sure!

Thanksgiving dinner #2B will be at JB's sister's house... with substantially fewer children than aforementioned dinner #1. I will be sitting this one out this year... however, I may have some sort of hand in the mashed potatoes lest Older Girl (sorry, the new code names escaped the brain) be disappointed... we shall see.

Temptation: I have my eye on a chef's outfit for JB... and perhaps a minitature matching one for me. I'm just not sure that he'd actually wear it. I think it would be fun though!

finite element analysis

oh the joys of classes... here's what I've been working on all night... enjoy

Free Stuff

If you haven't found this yet, it's a great place to try products as well as get free samples of some that you might already love! Walmart posts new free samples frequently. They send you the sample, you don't have to provide an email address and I haven't received any junk mail beyond the samples

ooooh dresses!!!!

So, as I was window shopping for a dress that T might wear... based on her description of herself... I came across one that is on clearance sale and is super awesome!!! I might even have to take a little trip to Ardmore to try it on... of course I could visit the Apple store while I'm there. Perhaps I'll get a dress and a computer :D... ok, maybe not after paying my tuition bill this morning. At any rate, in anticipation of attending a friend's wedding in January (oops, haven't mentioned it to JB yet) I might acquire a new dress. Here's a pic of it on a model... NOTE: model... not me... unfortunately/yet
Ann Taylor, here I come!

Drum roll, please...

And the winner is...

T with Honey

She will be receiving a gift certificate to the Douglassville Inn.

Thank you all for participating! :)

Fall-Y'all Giveaway!

Ok, this is my first venture into something other than a regular 'ol 'what's going on' post... if my first try doesn't work, feel free to leave me some bloggy hints.

I love to eat... and cook... and read recipes... ok, straight to the point -
I <3 FOOD.

So, I thought it would be appropriate for me to give away a gift certificate. This giveaway is open to anyone in the U.S. In order for me to pick a restaurant in your area, please provide your zipcode - and your favorite type of food (i.e. indian, italian, etc.) in the comments section of this post. I will select a winner at random on Saturday Nov. 3rd. I will need an email address for the winner; please include one if it's not provided in a name link.

Thank goodness it's over!

This post is a few days overdue...
Thanks for the prayers on Saturday. The 8 hour fundamentals of engineering exam was quite an experience! Hopefully I passed with the help of all the prayers, but I won't get my pass/fail score till late December/early January. So for now, it's over!!!! ... now, about that homework assignment that I put off... *ahem* ... I better get workin!

the final answer...

So, I went off to take my 8 hour engineering exam early Saturday morning leaving the task of halloween costumes to JB. I think the whole thing turned out pretty cute... although I felt the need to call him pumpkin all night!

it's just around the corner...

Halloween is rapidly approaching (as is the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam *shivers*). JB and I have now been invited to 3 costume parties... which raises the question...

What shall we be for halloween?!

Suggestions so far have included the following:
- Mac & PC (no clarifications needed on personnel if you know us!)
- the Blues Brothers (would need to find ties and hats)
- Steve Jobs & Bill Gates (similar to first suggestion although perhaps somewhat more obscure?)
- _______ - your suggestion here

I don't think he's particularly keen on attending these parties, so I need some good suggestions to spark an interest! Please help me out folks!

Background to help you think:
- I'm a few inches shorter than him
- He is of a fairly hefty build

(neglecting the heights, we somewhat resemble the Blues Brothers or Bert and Ernie in build (trade the heights on each of those pairs))

Post-season hopes dashed...

We the people of Philadelphia have once again had our post-season hopes dashed by the team we whole-heartedly supported through the entire season. Perhaps it is time to throw our focus whole-heartedly to the Eagles... perhaps they can make something happen... ... ...

Aimee's Name Game

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
X. Outback Impreza

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Moosetracks Mochabell

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME:(first letter of first name, first three letters of last name)
J-Mik

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Goose

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
X. Bethlehem what kind of name is that?!

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Mikjo I wonder how that would be pronounced... hmmm

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Pink Mango-tea

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
John John that sounds very hick-ish

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Grace Francis oooh, I like it!

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Generose Geneva

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Easter Morning-glory

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Kiwi T Shirty hehe!

14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Carrot Cake Cherry Blossom


15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)
The Piano-playing Gentle Breeze Tour I'm not really sure I'd buy a ticket to this one!


well, that was fun... nighty night!

YAY PHILLLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! They finally made it! NL East CHAMPS!!!!

So I have some catching up to do...

Rewind to Monday the 17th... my best friend from grade school and high school called me up with an extra ticket to the Eagles home game. We had a great time despite our team's loss! We had 9th row seats up from the field!!!!


Work has been wild and crazy! I'm back out in the field... but not under the Jersey Turnpike! I've been inspecting the installation of stone columns by Hayward Baker in Trenton, NJ.

We (explanation to come) went on a camping trip this past weekend tp Susquehanna State Park. We being me, my bf, my roomie, her bf, and DC (the guy who was our concrete canoe coach). It was an awesome weekend! Ignoring the bit of rain on Saturday morning (which was over by the time we got up and out of the tent), the weather was beautiful! We took two canoes and a kyaak out on the Chesapeake Bay... which was quite an experience as we were used to the calm waters of Marsh Creek Lake. We cooked great food over the campfire... I LOVE campfires and campfire food!!!!! Saturday morning we (the 20 something bunch) woke up with a turtle in our tent... hmmmmmmm. It was a cute little thing. :) Coach thought it would be funny to see my roomie's reaction. (This was her first camping trip). It was too bad that our other canoe buddy and her fiancee couldn't join us for the weekend. It was soo much fun! Perhaps it will become an annual event for the last weekend of summer.

This week starts the new school year here at Drexel. This means no more nice parking spaces available on the streets, drunken freshmen, loud parties, and all of the stress that comes with classes! I'll be taking a Finite Element Analysis course this term... please pray for me! I'm also going to try to continue singing in the Chorus... we'll have to see how that goes. I missed most of the first rehearsal last night, but at least I was able to pick up my music.

Well, I must unpack from camping so that I can repack to spend a night or two up at the jobsite. I have the option of staying or driving back and forth; so, I think I'll change it up a bit and do some of each.

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!!!!

They lost... it was not pretty!
I saw it first hand! (that part was awesome!)

There's a mouse in the house...

I HATE MICE!!!!!!!!

How is it that such little creatures are so destructive?! A mouse has ruined yet another delicious dark chocolate candy... and it was still in a box! I nearly stepped on it with only socks on my feet last night... ewww! Today I found it next to the trap but it ran at me (away from the trap) when I startled it (and quite possibly everyone in the building as well as at my parents house - I'm sure that such a scream was not warranted, but the mouse ran AT ME!!!!)

Ok, I'm going to reorganize my closet with my new drawers. That mouse better be dead in the morning!

Crystal Bridges... like WHOA!

So, somebody thought it was a good idea to work 14.5 hours today... phew... g'night!!
While you're waiting for a post with a point (all 2.5 people who might possibly read this)... check out the project on which I've been spending so much time!!

If you're looking for some good music, check out www.omegarock.com ... great music, carefully selected lyrics for ears of all ages!

Thanks for all of the posting ideas, Julia! I will work on those after I get some sleep... 14 hour days at the office are apparently quite exhausting!

for T with Honey!

I'm so excited!!! Thanks to T with Honey I have my first topic.

How I ended up at Drexel...
Once upon a time, many moons ago... (more like sophomore year of high school) I really had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. Well, I supposed my dream of being the Philly Phanatic didn't really count. My Chemistry teacher sent me to an Engineering workshop just for girls at Widener University. I had a really great time at the workshop!

jump ahead two years...
Senior year of high school, I loaded up on the AP math and science courses... I took all 4 that were offered at my high school (2 science and 1 math... I threw in AP English just for kicks). Over the summer and during the fall I toured a number of different schools and their respective engineering departments. I didn't know what type of engineering I wanted, so I was looking for schools that had many options. I narrowed down my options and applied to Bucknell (although I wasn't quite sure I'd fit in if I went there), Lehigh, Penn State (only if I could go to main campus), University of Delaware, and Drexel. I was NOT impressed at UD... so that hit the bottom of the pile. Bucknell wasn't offering merit based scholarships... huge turnoff! Lehigh, Penn State, and Drexel were in the running for top 3 on my list. Lehigh and Drexel were in the lead since I thought Penn State's engineering program might be too large for my liking.

It was a georgeous day when I visited Lehigh (not like I hadn't already been there). The campus was lovely, but several faculty members in engineering gave me the distinct impression that they were not keen on having girls in their program... Flag! Another professor practically told me to go to Drexel.
I couldn't have picked a stormier day to visit Drexel. A security guard met us at the car to advise us to hide anything in sight before leaving the car. I loved every minute of my day at Drexel. I submitted my application before leaving campus. Drexel waived my application fee and my essays because I filled it out on campus! (This gave them super bonus points after having attempted the book of essays that Princeton calls an application.) Drexel came through with a decent scholarship and the opportunity to apply for additional scholarships. I signed the acceptance and it should have been in the mail by the time Lehigh called with their scholarship offer. My mom hadn't mailed it yet... argh! Lehigh's offer was somewhat better than Drexel. I decided to go with the decision I had already made.

In the end, I'm glad I did... and I'd do the same thing again if I could. I graduated from Drexel with two degrees, one of which I wouldn't have been able to persue at Lehigh. Drexel's co-op program was a big help in confirming what I did not want to do for more than 6-month at a time. I graduated with engineering work experience and I had a job in line before graduation. In fact, I like it so much that I'm continuing as a part-time night school student to persue a Master's degree.

BecaHawkette... dreams of Philly Phanatic... Drexel Dragon... maybe I'll write about mascots one of these days...

Yip-yip-yip-yip-yip! Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!

Since my last attempt at a Blog has been sitting dormant for quite a while (the xanga thing seems to have been a fad) I thought I might try a new one. Perhaps I'll actually get around to posting once in a while. Before you read any further, please note that I am an engineer... as such, my writing may not be nearly as eloquent as those whose Blogs I frequent before studying the backs of my eyelids!

The name of my site was somewhat provoked by the current (TEMPORARY!) location of my computer under my somewhat lofted bed near the campus of Drexel University (home of the Dragons). Given the 101 SF available in my room with five walls, my desk had to be disassembled when the landlord asked for it to be moved away from the window. This effort was warranted in order to attain glass in my window panes before it gets cold outside. The glass had apparently decided it was tired of my window and jumped to the ground! (luckily no one was in its path to the ground!) Now that my window has been fixed, I must get around to restoring my 7ft x 4ft L shaped desk back to its proper location.

If you have found this site, please leave questions for me in my comments section that I could use as writing topics... ad-thanks-vance!