Winter Break

HAPPY NEW YEAR PROPLE!

So it has been about a month since I last updated. Back then I had my final fall thesis presentation the following day.... and it was great!

I had been able to somehow finish editing my “Making of Thesis” video 3 days early so was able to play that during the presentation as well. As an extra encouragement we also had 2 representatives from the Sarasota Film Festival to watch our movies. After I played mine one of them came up to me and complemented my video - even asked for my email because he wanted to make sure I knew about several festivals I could submit it to.

Then right after classes ended I went to Disney World with my old roommate from Moore College - Charmaine. It was her first time at a Disney park in America. It was cold and a bit wet, but we did everything in 4 days. Absolutely everything.

The day we checked out I dropped my car off at school then meet my Grandmother and Aunt to head over to Tallahassee. Then a very important event happened the next day..... my sister Katie graduated from FSU!

She graduated Magna Cum Laude, and with 2 honor medals

Little over a week after school left out I was finally able to go home. The week leading up to Christmas was spent dressing the house, buying last minute gifts, and wrapping. I also spent a day at my Grandmother’s house.

Reason?

My Poppa Tom would make thousands of christmas cookies every year. Trees, Norwegian jellies, snowballs, and biscotti. 2 years ago I started helping to make to cookies and learn the family recipes as 2 years ago he had had a stroke and got diagnosed with a something similar to ‘miners' lungs.’ Every year I do more of the work. It started with just prepping ingredients, then doing some of the work, and finally this year. 

This year my Poppa Tom was a lot worse than last year. He could no longer watch over my shoulder, show me how to work the cookie press, have the strength to stand at all.... I learned all the recipes this year. But, well, God has a plan for everyone. And mine includes learning how to make the cookies. Within 24 hours I made about 1,200 cookies.

Then you had Christmas. My brother Michael just made it back in time from school for us to go to our first night of Christmas. At my Dad’s parent’s house we had 14 people with a lot of traditional Italian Christmas food. At my Mom’s parent’s house we had 38 people with popular American Christmas food.

On the 27th my family left New Jersey and spent a week at the Florida Keys. We spent time relaxing, kayaking, reading, and hanging out as a family.

When we got back home I had a week before I had to leave for school. I spent the week mainly with my family. I did spend one day at my old high school to talk to the kids about life at an art college.

Now I’m back at Ringling for the last time. Classes start tomorrow and I’m not giving myself an easy time. Last semester I had 2 classes outside of thesis, anime club, Sunday dinners, and tutoring kids. This semester I’ll have 4 classes outside of thesis, anime club, Sunday dinners, tutoring kids, and big brothers/ big sisters. No, I don’t NEED them all, but I want them.

I’ll tell you what they are after I’ve actually had them all - hopefully this will be more regular with posting.