Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
So... as you may or may not know, Nidhal and I had a little accident on the way to my parents' house on Christmas Eve. Asshole AuGres had not salted their main 4-lane road, and the car just started sliding as soon as we passed Pier 23. The car slid onto the other side of the road and into the path of an oncoming truck. The truck won and Nidhal's glasses were broken by the airbag. We got out of the car and basically freaked out a bit. The ambulance came and they strapped both of us down to a board and drove us to the hospital. Nidhal and I agreed that it was kind of an interesting experience being wheeled into the hospital from an ambulance... like ER or Grey's Anatomy. After a couple hours, they let us go. Nidhal was bruised and sore, and I had a broken collar bone and a nasty seatbelt burn along with my bruises. It wasn't until I tried to climb into bed at home that I noticed the problem with my right leg. The whole bottom half was one big ugly bruise and it was swollen to about twice its size. But we're feeling a bit better now. Coincidentally, this is the second time that I've broken my collar bone.Christmas was nice. Anna and Steph and Dan came. Anna is still very adorable, of course.And now I'm sick of typing with only one hand.
Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!Froehliche Weihnachten!Joyeux Noel!
Like A Dessert of Snow
Nidhal made that observation [in the title] when we were driving to Sam's Club to buy bread. He said that Michigan right now looks just like the Sahara in southern Tunisia except that here it's white instead of yellow. Pointing to the snow drifting over the right lane of the road, he said, "Look! That's exactly what it's like in the dessert!"
And it's cold. Last night, weather.com said that it felt like -29 degrees Celsius, so Nidhal went outside to experience it. Earlier, he had told his father that it was -16 degrees Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit), and his dad said, "And you're still alive?" It does, however, get cold in Tunisia... just not that cold. In the northwest, there are mountains and it snows there, and it gets cold enough in Tunis (the capital on the Mediterranean) to warrant a winter coat.
Christmas is coming! I still need to make some Christmas cookies.
Great things about Christmas:
1. decorated Christmas trees
2. Christmas music
3. Christmas cookies (making and eating)
4. the smell of cinnamon from candles
5. Christmas lights
6. the giving of gifts
7. sitting and relaxing
FERTIG!
Ha ha! Woohoo! I'm so glad to be done with that thing! The GRE, that is. I didn't reach the scores I had dreamed of, but they were better than my goal. I am very satisfied with what I received. And I could not believe that I did so well. As I was struggling through the questions, filled with dread, visions of 400s danced through my head. I didn't even get through all of the math questions. The last four or so I went through and picked "C" because I only had 28 seconds left. I was fidgeting the entire time on my comfy chair. I wanted to be done so bad that I didn't even take my 10 minute break. It was a computer exam, so the only scores I don't know are my writing scores, but I don't think I did too bad on those. So as you may know, the GRE is like the SAT with scoring: 800 points for math and 800 points for verbal scored in increments of 10. My dream scores were math 800 and verbal 700. Of course I didn't achieve that. My goal scores were math 700 and verbal 550. So what were my actual scores? Math 770 and verbal 620. I about died from relief when I saw those scores on the screen.
I bought my sister and her husband a Christmas present today. The gift, bread, water, and chicken was everything that I purchased this afternoon. Nidhal and I had stuffed chicken breast for dinner with corn on the side. It was ok, but not really anything special. I think I need to find a different filling because this one had the same taste as a pasta that I like to make.
And now I can start on my German upkeep and my French and Arabic learning.
$20 Date
Yesterday, Nidhal and I had a nice little night out... and it only cost us $20. First, we had our wonderful and delicious dinner at Subway (the prime rib with provolone cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, black olives, green peppers, banana peppers, and the southwest sauce is very tasty). We topped off the meal with a lap through Whole Foods, where we took full advantage of the available samples. And then we had a relaxing end to the evening, sipping our coffees and talking for hours at Starbucks. By the way, the peppermint white chocolate mocha is definitely worth the $4 (and the caffeine buzz I had until 3am).
Have I mentioned that I am excited about Christmas?!?!?! I love Christmas. Our tree is up and decorated, and there are a couple presents underneath... for my mother. There are still a few things that I need to get for Nidhal. I've barely started buying stuff for my dad. I hardly ever know what to get him. Last Christmas, there was a coffee theme. I got him Starbucks coffee, a coffee grinder, and a Starbucks coffee cup. He'll get the coffee again this year, but I don't know what to add to that. I still need to get some things for Anna and Steph/Dan. For Anna, I'm thinking about a Michigan shirt and a plastic food set or a play-doh set (both currently on sale at the house of evil). ...I just realized that I have a lot of shopping to do.
Working at the house of evil has been taking some of the pleasure out of the holiday season. I always knew that Christmas was a big commercial holiday, but I never really experienced it until now. YOU CAN NOT RUIN MY CHRISTMAS, YOU BAD BAD STORE!
What was I going to say?
I am incredibly jealous of Joslyn (a friend currently in Japan). I want adventure! I want new experiences! I want out of this country!
Oh, I remembered. I like cooking, or at least the idea of cooking. I like cookbooks. I like finding new recipes. I like being triumphant with a meal or a dessert. And the Food Network website has a lot of recipes.
Tomorrow will be a busy day even though I don't have to work. Bank, post office, stores, Blockbuster, cooking... It doesn't sound like much, but we could be out and about all day.
I miss all of my friends from everywhere... Au Gres, the University of Michigan, AYF, etc. I miss you all! And I think about you often! (And I stalk you a little, too).
Drive Me Crazy
Nidhal and I watched The Kingdom tonight. It was Nidhal's choice, but I enjoyed it. Too bad the guy had to die at the end.
The Christmas tree that I bought in Germany is now standing in our living room. It's actually quite nice. This is the third year that I've used it. Nidhal helped me decorate it a little... I let him put the star on.
A few days ago I was pretending that work was a video game. You have to dodge the customers while putting things back where they belong. Ok, it was more exciting in my sleep-deprived stupor.
Because I know you were wondering...
To tell the truth, I am not overly fond of showers. Usually when I'm dry, I prefer to stay dry. I don't dislike showers, but I don't look forward to them either. Well, today's shower was exceptional. I don't know what the deal was, but I just wanted to stay under that hot water forever.
And I slept for 12 hours for the first time in a very long time. Ahh, refreshing.
Covered In Gravy
Thanksgiving was fun. On Wednesday night, we went to my parents house where I decorated the Christmas tree (we're going to put up my little one here too). Then early Thursday morning, we drove to my grandparent's. Practically my entire extended family was there (almost all aunts, uncles, and first cousins from both sides). It was nice. Nidhal enjoyed it. We found out that he loves corn, banana bread, and pecan pie, but he's not really a fan of stuffing, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin pie. Mmm, pie. And strangely enough, he doesn't like apple pie, my favorite one.
For the rest of the weekend, we hung around with my cousins from my mom's side. I think my family liked Nidhal, and Nidhal sure liked some of them.
I don't remember what I wanted to say. I always do that. Nidhal is making soup. Yum.
