thoughts on new years

we were given unexpectedly warm weather for christmas this year while we were in utah. it was foggy the first several days we were there but on christmas day, the sun was shinning and it was, relatively, warm (perfect weather for running trails in the mountains!). the day after christmas it snowed though so i at least got my fix of seeing snow fall from the sky in winter. i am back in austin now and there is unseasonably warm weather here as well. i am not complaining a bit.

i have been contemplating new years resolutions or using new years as an excuse to start doing something i've been contemplating for awhile now. i'm considering participating in project 333. i'm not exactly a clothes horse, but the idea is to make myself more aware of what i wear and how i wear it...again. when i spent a couple months in tanzania in college, we were limited to what we could fit in our backpack for two months. by the end of my time there i had become very creative with how i wore my clothing and realized that less really can be more. i definitely have more clothing now than i could easily fit into a backpack, but many of these things i don't wear on a regular basis.

picking a wardrobe that will take me through the next few months is an appealing challenge. as a graduate student, i don't have to dress up for work everyday and living in texas, i don't need a lot in terms of cold weather clothing. however, the next few months will likely involve job interviews and traveling to climates very unlike where i live now...and my wardrobe would have to account for this. so, i am going through everything and seeing what i think will and won't be possible. i definitely think the project is doable, but having some time to visualize is nice!

cookies!

a few specimens from the seasons first batch of Christmas cookies! they were hit at the thankschristmas celebration today. i don't know what these cookies would be called by most people but in my family they were called victoria cookies. victoria lived just down the street from my grandmother and great-grandmother. when i was very little, we only got these special cookies when we went to visit. my mom eventually asked victoria for her secret recipe. i have many fond memories of being a cookie quality inspector as my mom made them at our house.

on a completely unrelated note, watch out for people hacking into your facebook account! i deactivated my months ago and haven't done anything with it, but i returned home from thankschristmas dinner to find an email informing me that my account had been reactivated. eric checked and sure enough he could see my account again, so it wasn't just spam. scary!

last day of classes

today was the last day of classes for my last fall semester in school. that's kind of weird. not sad. just weird. i feel fortunate that the professor for who i am ta-ing this semester does not need me to help proctor the final. my schedule next week will be filled with nothing but research and i am excited for that.

eric and i finally gave up trying to look for cities where we both might be able to find something to do. we realized that we needed to just apply everywhere, including areas where there are opportunities for us both, and then to wait and see if and where we got offers. this week i sent off one faculty, two postdoc and three job applications. there are a couple more postdocs i want to apply for and i'm keeping my eyes open for the right faculty positions.

i am really excited for the holidays this year. i follow a number of minimalist blogs and many of the writers have been reflecting on holiday traditions and how tradition and time spent with family and friends is what makes the holidays what they are...not the hustle and bustle and need to shop for things people do not need. i definitely find myself slowing down and looking forward to the post-semester relaxation period. tomorrow eric and i will be joining friends for a ThanksChristmas celebration with a friend who had to work over thanksgiving. happy start of the holiday season and end of fall semester everyone!