And what does the employee of the month do, you might ask??

Well, as your very own employee of the month, I'd like to share with y'all what I do as a part of the Activity Department at a nursing home.

< Please pardon the quality of the pictures. I'm not a photographer, and I usually only take pictures on my phone. >

I am in charge of the evening activities, and as one of our more recent endeavors, we made candy cane cookies!! Thank you, Aunt Linda, for this Christmas tradition.

If you decide to make these, try buying the peppermints that are already unwrapped. This got tedious.

CRUSHCRUSHCRUSH! Warning: most people in a nursing home don't like listening to you hammer a bag full of hard candy... :/

This takes lots and LOTS of red food coloring...

Aren't they cute?!?! We had so much fun. 

The whole process is pretty self explanatory... I usually make the sugar cookie dough from scratch, but at the nursing home it's a bit easier to buy the packages that only require water. (Haha)

We've been doing a lot of crafts, lately for the Christmas season.

A snowman coaster! I love it.

Snowman jingle bell ornament

Mitten

'Lil penguin!

Clothespin reindeer

Penguin bucket

Snowflake tree

Button wreath (TERRIBLE lighting and camera.. :/)

Anyway, I figured that it might be interesting to share a bit about what I do at work all day. I absolutely love my job; I work for the greatest elderly people in the universe. 

Quote of the week: (while teaching my evening crowd how to play "Fact or Crap") 

Is this fact or crap: It is illegal for people to carry ice cream cones in their pockets in Kentucky.

[insert incredulous looks from around the table]

They all selected "crap."

Surprisingly, this was actually a fact.

M: "Well, I'm going to go to Kentucky and put ice cream in my pocket. And then I'm gonna shove it in their nose."

Cheers. :)

Farewell, Fall 2010

Dear Fall of 2010,

You have been terrible to me. It has not been a fun ride, in the least.

BUT

you are over!!!!!!!!

I am officially peacin' out to everything that this semester has symbolized.

C'mon, Liz, is this supposed to help you study? Writing "epic fail" in block lettering is not going to trigger what made the poem an "epic fail," nor will it provide you any basis for improving this for the portfolio! Was this supposed to be productive? Well, it wasn't. But thank you, Liz, for thinking of finals week-- as if it isn't stressful enough.

Yes, the page is blank. I have an awful time trying to focus long enough to write one sentence. Just one sentence!!!

But guess what?! I have just completed my last final! I am freeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

And to kick off my break, I got selected as the employee of the month! Hollaaaaaaaaa!

I am so incredibly stoked... Apparently a bunch of people at work thought that I deserved it, so they spread the word; lo and behold, it worked! I got picked! So many exclamation points! 

Anyway, I am honored. I love my job, I love (most) of my co-workers, and I am veryvery blessed!!

I bought myself my first Starbucks of the semester to celebrate. Peppermint mochas are delicious.

And then I decided that maybe I deserved some lemon cake, too. Haha :)

So there we have it! The semester is complete, and winter break I will be parking right next to the building in my very own parking spot! Hallllleelluuujaaaaaaah. (Ha)

I'd like to publicly thank my parents, my Aunt Davida and Uncle Lew, Elena and Cameron, Carolyn, and Anthony for getting me through the trials of this semester. It truly has been a test of who I am... I think that it'd be fair to say that I am okay! (This is a big deal.) Now, whether my grades reflect my personal growth, I don't know; but there's nothing I can do about it at this point. I am not going to dwell on the woulda coulda shouldas of this season.

It is time to drink hot chocolate, help Lena and Cam pack up the house, visit family and friends, and not care about the fact that I'm wearing my fat jeans as a result of my terrible eating habits during finals!

⁵ Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;

      your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
    ⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
      your justice like the ocean depths.
   You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
       ⁷ How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
   All humanity finds shelter
      in the shadow of your wings.
    ⁸ You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
      letting them drink from your river of delights.
    ⁹ For you are the fountain of life,
      the light by which we see.

Psalm 36: 5-9

Giving credit, where credit's due.

Cheers.