I'm new at blogging

     I've been feeling like if I could write down my daily activities in life, like a journal, I would feel more connected to the world. Facebook is great and all, but it's only a snapshot of who I am. I thought that Christmas break would be a good time to start a blog because I  have more free time.
     So, here's what's up today. I'm happily married to Evan, aka Pokey. And while we are new at this marriage thing and separated by miles for the next several months, I'm exceptionally blessed to have him. He is currently in Asheville as part of his residency and so I enjoy visiting him every chance we can get.  So far, during our stay in Asheville, we've obtained a season pass to the beautiful Biltmore, explored nature, gotten to know some good eats, and learned quickly that we need to live on a smaller budget due to our growing gas bill.

    We are exceptionally excited for our first Christmas together, and Evan has officially decorated the "tree." Before I got here yesterday, he bought some LED lights from Walmart and adorned the palm in our apartment. We also decided that it won't feel like Christmas unless we bake some holiday cookies, so that's on the agenda tonight. Hopefully they will turn out something like this...

    I just learned tonight that Evan always made these with his mom at this time of year. Hopefully, ours will turn out as good as mom Chalk's cookies. We are so thankful at this time of year and at this stage in our lives (poor and in school) to have two sets of loving families. We will travel to Wake Forest to see my family at Christmas Eve so that we can feel like we're kids again. We'll all get pjs on Christmas Eve (which we will all wear), probably read Jesus' birth from the Bible (at my urging), climb into bed and wait for Santa to arrive. It will be even more special since Evan is now officially part of the family. Then, on Christmas morning, we will eat chocolate croissants from the Chalks so we can feel like they are there too.  I'm dreaming of these croissants (and apparently my sister is too because my mom has already had to remind her that she can't have any until we get there). Here they are...I'm drooling...

Well, now that I've looked at that, it's time to cook some yummy dinner. It's one of my favorite times of day when Evan cooks with me. I'll have to write about our cooking adventures later....