Christmas Tag

I guess when your wife tags you, you have no choice but to comply. So here goes:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate. I'm pretty sure Egg Nog is against my religion. OK, it's not, but it should be.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa doesn't wrap (he doesn't really rap either). He always left presents unwrapped with our stockings on the couches.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. Because my wife says so.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope - I don't deal with the decorations at all.

5. When do you put up your decorations? Whenever Deidra says "Go!"

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Pecan Pie, Ham, Peanut Brittle

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My older brother (Ryan) and I had rooms right across the hall from each other, and we were both just down the hall from where Santa left presents. We would grab our blankets, pillows, and flashlights and try to stay up all night waiting for Santa while keeping each other company.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Ryan figured it out first and called my dad on it one time while we were driving somewhere. My dad didn't even try to deny it.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. My dad went on a mission to Norway, and that is part of their tradition. One year, Santa even brought skis to us in his pick-up truck on Christmas Eve. Once we got older, we opened all our gifts on Christmas Eve so that my parents didn't have to wake up early on Christmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I don't really. I let Deidra take care of that. I'm more of a hinderance.

11. Can you ice skate? Definitely. I'm pretty much a pro . . .unless I have to turn or stop or anything.

12. Do you remember your favorite gift? I'm pretty sure I got a cool Chemistry set once year that was fun to play with, even though they didn't have any cool chemicals that would blow anything up.

13. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Christ and Family.

14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Peanut Brittle and Pecan Pie

15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? My family goes skiing together on Christmas day. Because everybody else is busy opening presents, eating Christmas dinner, and caroling, the slopes are usually pretty non-congested.

16. What tops your tree? Two glittery silver stars.

17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving. It's fun trying to find the perfect gift.

18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? The Little Drummer Boy. My favorite versions are from Jars of Clay and from David Bowie and Bing Crosby.

19. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized? Not necessarily. I don't think it's difficult to center Christmas around Christ if you make it a point to do so.

I Made It!

I officially* graduated on Friday, December 12th with a Master of Science in Human Resources. Since then, I have been researching schools for a PhD and have decided to apply to the following (in no particular order):

Michigan State University

University of Michigan

UCLA

University of Indiana

University of Maryland

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

Purdue University

University of Minnesota

So that is the next step. They all have deadlines between January 1 and February 15, 2009, so I better get moving quickly in order to get all of my information in on time. Wish me luck! I'll certainly keep everyone posted, but I am sure I won't hear back about any of these for a few months at least.

* by "officially," I mean that I went through the graduation ceremony. Final grades and diploma are forthcoming.