wow. i can't believe that the holidays are over...it seems like they just started. christmas was wonderful, as usual. of course it began with the usual holiday stress that seems to contage (is that a word?) onto and from everybody around you but once family starts arriving and all the fun begins we all forget about the stress and start to think about the celebration. it was really nice this year because my grandparents stayed back this winter, instead of heading down to mesa like they usually do, and my cousins came up as well. it was a fun time for everybody and i'm sure it will be remembered fondly by everybody also. i kept so busy though that i barely had any time to just relax...which is odd since the vacation is supposed to be for relaxing but i had a good time so i guess that's ok then. it's now back to the grind of juggling, school, work, and general life...i love it. i'm hoping to do a little more fun stuff this term though, to hopefully keep my stress levels down. those of you who know me, know that i am a generally carefree type of person, even when i should be stressing a little more than i do, and for that reason i find it really tough to deal sometimes when things get too crazy. but we're going to have from now on. i am hoping to go ice skating a few times this winter too...so, if you're interested let me know and i'll keep you in mind when we're planning. i am enjoying all but one of my courses this term so that's exciting...and quite rare i'd say. i just can't seem to get over how boring economics is...stupid really. umm...i got a new hamster. his name is seamus (pronounced Shay-mus). he's just a regular hamster, not a dwarf or teddybear or anything like that, but he's super cute though he's really sketchy still. he always hides in his little tube thing and he makes this weird sound that's like a cross between a squeal and a hiss. it's kind of creepy and i'm not sure if he's getting ready to attack or if he's scared but in the mornings he's usually pretty friendly. anyways, i'm going to see "In Good Company" tonight with heather so i have to get going...but i promise you all that i will TRY (emphasizing the word 'try' there) to update more than once a month...surprisingly i didn't realize that it was that infrequent.