Break in Review

In chronological order:

Chris went home for a few days as soon as break started and I had "Smith family Christmas" (my mom's side). We always have an exchange of gifts and there are plenty of good times. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really related to these people, but it's okay because they're good people, just crazy. We also celebrated my uncle's 50th birthday by giving him the infamous pair of XXL black panties that somehow have been passed around for at least 25 years. 25 years! My grandmother also had received a racy apron that she made him try on...I don't really understand the significance of this other than it made my grandmother laugh so hard tears rolled down her face.
You can see my grandma on the right side of the photo cracking up. We almost got the apron on Patrick until he looked up and saw that I'd whipped out my camera phone and he ran out of the room faster than Grandpa could say "Patrick, you look like a sissy!" (Which he did say, totally out of the blue, and the highlight of my night.)

Anyway, Chris came back, and we hung around...sort of cleaning, doing nothing, enjoying one another's company. We've been following a workout program for a few weeks now and so we got more into that, did some cooking, and generally had a great time.

Christmas Eve we had a big Twist dinner (with Chris, of course) and went to Midnight Mass for the first time in my life (and the first time in my dad's life too!) We always went to the kids Mass earlier on Christmas Eve, but this year Patrick had to work (at Abercrombie, no less) so we went to Newman Center. Chris really wanted to go to the Cathedral because he thought it would be prettier, but my dad was lame and said he didn't want to.

By the way, did you know that Abercrombie sprays the "abercrombie scent" from little boxes in the light fixtures?

Anyway, Christmas day came, I got more presents than any person should (I'm spoiled, I guess!) and was quite content playing with my new apron
and other assorted gifts. We hung out, ate plenty of delicious food, and had an overall awesome day. Chris and I wanted to head out to Indiana that night, so we went back to the apartments to shower and get packed. I was all packed up and out the door (taking out the trash, so romantic!) when Chris wanted to go back into my apartment to "make sure we got everything"...

You see where this is going, right? :)

I bounced back inside in my new pink jacket (and matching cap) when Chris took my hand and walked me over to the 2 foot Christmas tree. He said "what if I told you I have one more present for you?" I think I giggled at that point, I wasn't quite sure what was coming and didn't want to jump to any conclusions! He then told me that I was his best friend and he didn't want to wait any longer to tell me how much he loved me. He said a lot of other things that neither of us really remember...Then he handed me a little box with a bow on it! I giggled some more (a little teary eyed of course) and opened the box...

and it was empty! He laughed at my surprise then got down on one knee, and you of course know how it ended! I got down on my knees too...next to the pathetic little Christmas tree. Then we headed over to my parent's house for Christmas dinner, and a celebration! My mom even had a Bridal magazine waiting for me in my dinner seat! She'd been storing it until Chris popped the question, apparently!

Later I found out that Chris had initially intended to propose at Midnight Mass (with just the two of us there) but because Patrick was working and my whole family went, it was hard to find a spot where just the two of us were alone together. I told him it was just as well, since I wouldn't have paid attention to Mass at all! :)

That night, we headed to Indianapolis to celebrate Christmas with his family and hung out there for a few days. We came back in time for New years, spent it catching up with my Peruvian roomie, Amanda (yeah! pictures to come).

I also got to play with Sabrina one day who coincidentally got engaged on Christmas as well! She called me and squealed "I got engaged!" and I squealed back "that's so awesome, me too!" If two engagements weren't enough, Chris' roomate Kateri ALSO got engaged, I think it was on Christmas eve night.

Since then, I've been wedding planning - blech! It sounds all fun until you look at the price tag and actually try to make decisions. My mom has had some differing opinions and since she's the one with (the most) money, I feel like she gets a good say in what we do. But, it's our wedding! Stress!

Right now we're looking into having a small-ish ceremony sometime in October, which I think will give me enough time to get my letters of recommendation, Step 2 taken, and all the necessary planning that is involved in this shin-dig. We'll see how that goes. Currently, my questions are as follows:
"Do I need a wedding planner?"
"Can I bake my own cake or am I crazy?"
"When is this going to be? - pray that it works for October 17th!"
"Will I get step 2 and everything school-related done in time?"
"Who will the attendants be?"
"Will I go crazy trying to plan and study and everything all at once?"
"Do you know anybody that does anything wedding related? Flowers, cakes, dresses, decorations, photos, etc etc etc???"

My head is spinning...that's enough for now!