Simply having a wonderful Christmastime.

 

I spent Christmas up north in Manchester, with my sweet friend Hannah. It was lovely and festive and full of warmth and cheer (despite the grim weather). 

The cherry on top was tuning into Christmas with my family in New Mexico.

 Skype is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was Thanksgiving, even though it didn't really feel like it.

I spent the day at work, because apparently England doesn't have anything to be thankful for. I would have much preferred to have spent it surrounded by family members while I ate myself into a food coma, like a true American. But alas.

I settled for this.

Did anyone else spend their Turkey Day at an Irish pub?

Not your traditional Thanksgiving meal, but at least it was tasty and shared with friends. Plus, I still have Saturday to look forward to, when we'll celebrate properly.

Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours.

There's no place like home[coming].

I'm sitting at work, smiling maniacally and buzzing like I just drank a lot of coffee. But I haven't had any coffee at all. This, my friends, is what you call a natural high.

 

I'm just so excited to be heading to Texas tomorrow! Why am I going, you ask? Because of this:

 

That's right. I get to go to Baylor Homecoming this year! 

Here's what I'm most excited about:

 

Driving -- I say this all the time, but I can't tell you how much I miss it. A car gives you so much freedom. Plus, where else am I supposed to sing loudly without fear of embarrassment?

 

Christmas -- But it's barely Halloween, you say? Well when you're not going home for the holidays, Christmas comes early for the ones you love. I've been planning, and I'm really excited to make people feel loved and special with an assortment of British goodies.

 

Football -- (American style.) When I was at Baylor, I never missed a home game. I've watched online, but it's been two years since I've actually been to a game. I can't wait.

 

Campus -- Apparently, a lot has changed around my alma mater. Still, I'm sure it will still feel like home. I'm excited to grab a cowboy coffee and walk the Bear Trail like old times.

 

Sunshine -- I've checked the forecast, and it's supposed to get into the mid 80s (that's 30 degrees for all you silly Celsius users). I haven't been that warm since my visit to Italy last June. To give you some perspective, our highs for London are expected to be 50 and below this week. God bless Texas and it's complete lack of regard for fall...even in November.

 

Food -- I've already made a list of all the restaurants that I absolutely must visit. Judging by what I've got down so far, it's possible that I could spend my entire trip eating. But that's a risk I'm willing to take.

 

Target -- I don't even need to buy anything. I just need to go. Don't judge.

 

And of course, friends and family -- To me, that's what Baylor Homecoming is all about. In fact, when my friends and I were interviewed at Baylor a few years ago by some local news crew, that's the answer I gave. That's also the answer Alexis gave, immediately following mine (I think she panicked). So the camera panned across our group as we listed off our favorite things about Homecoming, and it ended up sounding like this: "Football. Pigskin. Friends and family. Friends and...family." It was hilariously awful. I'm pretty sure we never ended up on TV.

 

-------------------------

The point is, I can't wait to get on that plane tomorrow. I absolutely love living in London. It's such a fun city, and I've met some incredible people who mean the world to me.

See what I mean? Lovely, wonderful people.

But there's just something about going home that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So all you lovely Texas people, get ready. I'm headed your way.
 
And I can't wait to hug you.

  

Sentimentality.

Today my brother -- my little brother -- graduated from Baylor. Already! I can't even believe it. Part of me is really sad that I couldn't be there, but the rest of me is just super proud. 

My brother's the best guy ever. Seriously.

Not only that, but two of my dearest friends just graduated with masters degrees. How cool is that? Again, super proud.

It all makes me so sentimental, and I find myself asking how it's already been two years since I graduated. Unbelievable. But I'm so so thankful for my four years at Baylor and all the amazing friends I made along the way. Even though I'm now a looooong way from Waco, Texas, it still feels like home -- and I suppose it always will. And that's entirely because of the people I met there. 

So, if you'll forgive my sentimentality, I'll leave you with this. It's okay if you think it's cheesy. I'm sure a lot of people do. But it means a lot to me.

Royal mail.

Facebook is great. Text messages are wonderful. Emails make me smile. But I cannot begin to express to you how much I love mail. So this completely made my day. It was all I could do to keep from skipping right out of the post office.

And moms? Well they're the best.

 

Treasures from the New World.

Dad arrived today! I met him at Heathrow, and since (1) I had never been there before, (2) he wouldn't have access to a phone (dumb international fees) and (3) I had a presentation to give the same afternoon, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing. But it all went smoothly -- apart from his little almost-falling-down-the-escalator incident, but we won't talk about that -- and now he's here! Plus, he brought me gifts from a distant land! Peter Pan peanut butter, Nestle bittersweet chocolate chips, canned pumpkin, and other treasures from the New World! Pretty much the things that don't exist here or are super expensive since they're "fancy American stuff." 

Yes, that's the technical term.

Opening that suitcase was like Christmas Morning.