The Winter Break Bucket List // by Kelsey

It's finally here, Winter Break! I've been looking forward to this since I got a little taste of being off of Stanford Time at Thanksgiving. Now I am home at last, and this time without any projects, papers, or final exams looming over my head. My entire family is home, which is quite a rare occurrence these days -- usually, my younger brother is busy with his countless extra curriculars and my older brother is on the East Coast at the Coast Guard Academy. With everyone under one roof, the holidays have officially begun at the Suggs house! The tree, garland, and lights are all ready for the 25th. Bring it on, Christmas.

Now, as exciting as all this is to me, I know that in a few days I'm going to find myself sitting on the couch, wondering what to do with myself. I've been going a million miles per hour, 24/7 pretty much since I was 5 -- dance lessons, piano lessons, softball and soccer, girl scouts... you name it, I did it -- I just don't know how to NOT be busy anymore. So, in order to preemptively rid myself of any "break boredom" I am making a bucket list of all the things I am going to do before heading back for another quarter at Stanford.

1. Read a Book!  Now I know what you are thinking. Really, Kelsey? You want to read a book after you just spent the last 10 weeks thumbing through countless pages of HumBio? And the answer is yes! -- sort of. I can't remember the last time I read a book because I truly wanted to, because I enjoyed the story. It's always been motivated by my professors ensuring me that "This information will be on the final." I just want a read a book for me. I'm going to lay out in the sun (weather permitting) and get lost in some epic adventure.


2.  See The Hobbit  This movie isn't particularly something I am looking forward to for the reasons you might think. I'm not obsessed with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I don't want to be a hobbit or an elf or any of the other strange characters in the book. No, this story has more of a sentimental value to me. When I was younger, the first time I got really really sick, my dad began to read this book to me to help me fall asleep. It was just something small that he did but it made me feel so much better. In fact, I even pretended to be sick longer than I was so that he wouldn't stop! (Eventually he caught on, but don't worry he kept reading to me anyway!) I think it is only fitting that I now go see the movie with my dad (:


3. Eat some REAL Mexican Food  I love you, NorCal, I do... but there's just no competition when it comes to selection of authentic Mexican food. SoCal wins EVERY time. The next chance I get, I am driving down to the coast, hitting up my favorite local spot and eating some delicious food down by the water. It's the best thing.


4. Go Sailing  When I was younger, there was a youth sailing program out of a local harbor. I haven't really sailed since, and I miss it so much! My younger brother has joined a sailing team, and he, my older brother, and my dad all went out on the water the other day. Needless to say, I was very envious that they were out in the ocean while I was sitting in the airport terminal, waiting for my plane to arrive. It's going to be great to get back out there, pictures definitely to follow.


5. Christmas!  Christmas morning at the Suggs house is one of my favorite things. We have a huge spread for breakfast: a fantastic casserole, cinnamon rolls, coffee and lattes, christmas cookies that we've baked, fruit salad... my mouth is watering just thinking about it! We put christmas music on in the background and sit around the tree, opening our gifts. After, my mom and I get started on the Christmas dinner. Get the oven ready for the turkey and the ham, make all the side dishes, and of course the desserts. Cheesecakes, pies, MORE Christmas cookies, hot cocoa and cider. YUM!


6. Watch our football team kick some bootay!  As you probably know, Stanford's football team is now one of the nation's powerhouses. The program has come so far in the past years, and now we are headed to our third consecutive BCS bowl game. The best part? It's right in my backyard! This year's Rose Bowl will be played on January 1st in LA and I could not be more excited. A couple of girls from my sorority and I are going to spend New Years Eve in the city and then head over to the stadium to watch our boys beat the Wisconsin Badgers. Cassie is going to come too, which means I am going to laugh harder than I have since she graduated and left for Spain. In a nutshell? I CAN'T WAIT!!

 So there it is. My winter break bucket list for 2012. If the world does end in a few days, at least I'll have spent my last few days having a blast!

Tis the Season // by Emily

I cannot wait for Christmas! Hands down my favorite holiday. It is not much of a competition because it is one of the few times a year where it is socially acceptable to eat your body weight in food, with Thanksgiving being a close second. I love it when my family is all together (which sadly is pretty rare nowadays) and with no school to be stressing about, the cold snuggle weather, and copious amounts of dessert that is on display around the house, it is not hard to understand why it is the most wonderful time of the year. I went home last week to help decorate our tree and it was UNREAL. Momma Dorst put on some apple cider; Elvis, Mariah Carey, and Frank Sinatra were singing Christmas carols in the background; Lindsay and I modeled around some itchy and festive sweaters; and slowly but surely our tree became cluttered and beautiful with dozens, if not hundreds, of ornaments. They ranged from janky homemade ornaments, to old school pictures, to pretty huge sparkly bulbs. Last night, some of the girls on our floor got together and had a nail polish party while watching Love Actually. Ashley painted my nails and it was the perfect study break. One more final to go and then Christmas vacation wahoooo ow ow yayayayay yeassss woot woot zomg yaaa budddyyy!!