Big year. I’m graduating in May and starting my first full-time job sometime at the end of summer. Hard to believe.

Nothing quite like being rudely awoken at 6:30 in the morning. I must admit, its not my favorite thing to do.. especially when its below freezing outside and about 58 degrees in the house. I drove Bets up towards Nashville to take her car into the shop. The place opened at 7:30 a.m., so naturally, Bets wanted to be the first in line. It’s ok though, I got starbucks out of the deal.

I went downtown the other night to watch an NHL hockey game – the Nashville Predators vs. the Chicago Blackhawks. Ernst and Young has a reserved box at the Sommet Center where they often get free tickets to games and concerts. It was the second or third Predators game that i’ve been to. It was a lot of fun.

We passed the US Bank building where E&Y’s Nashville office is located – One Nashville Place.  Here are a couple pictures of where i’ll be working this next year.

One Nashville Place - E&Y Office

Nashville Skyline

I’m flying up to Vermont with Bets on Friday to go skiing with my aunt, uncle, and four little cousins. I’m really excited! I’ve never been skiing before – from what my uncle tells me, my youngest cousin Cote (6 or 7 years old) will be the one teaching me. The rumor is that he’s the fastest and best skiier of the family. It’s going to be about 4 degrees, and we’re going to be about a mile away from the Canadian border. I think we’re going to try and take a day trip over to Canada one day which will be awesome.

Home is great. I’ve spent most of the day today just relaxing, drinking good coffee with my mom and dad, writing emails, taking a hunter’s safety course online, watching Ice Age 3 with my little brothers, and just enjoying a break from school. It’s hard to believe i’m only a semester away from graduating.

I’m loving being at home. It’s been a really relaxing break so far. Nick and Julie were in town for about a week, along with everyone else in the family. They left this morning to head up to St. Louis to spend New Years with Nick’s side of the family. As always though, its been great having the whole family together for Christmas – all 14 of us now (Dad, Mom, Wim and Libby and Carrie Lou, Nick and Julie, Betsy, me, Marianna, Johnny, Carrie, Peter, and David).

One of the highlights of break has been spending time with my 6 month old niece, Carrie Louise. I’m loving being an uncle and spoiling her with time and affection. It’s funny – looking back I’ve never really found little babies to be all that “cute” or “adorable,” but when it’s your niece or nephew, all of that seems to change. I’ve spent hours at a time holding Carrie Lou, playing with her, throwing her up in the air and watching her giggle, trying to teach her how to crawl, spoon-feeding her spinach (her facial expressions were priceless – it was the first time she’d ever had spinach), and just loving on her. It’s pretty amazing. I love being an uncle.

Tonight, me and all the boys in the family (except Nick) are going to see a professional hockey game in the Nashville stadium. The Nashville Predators vs. the Chicago Blackhawks. It should be fun!

So it’s the weekend before finals hit with full-force. It’s not been a very enjoyable time of the semester. In fact, of the 7 semesters that I’ve been here so far, this has been probably the most pressured and intense final’s week i’ve had.  With 6 finals crammed into 3 days, it’s taken a lot of preparation to manage my time and figure out what to study and when to study it. I’m trying to prioritize, while still spending adequate time on each course. Prayer would be great – for confidence, diligence, and a clear, focused mind for the last stretch. After wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., I could care less at what  capacity my brain is functioning at. Until then, it’s crunch time.

Mary Frances and I went out on a date tonight. I hadn’t taken her out in a long time, so I told her to save Friday night for me in her schedule. I didn’t tell her where we were going or what we were doing… the element of surprise added a little bit of excitement! We first went to Alleia’s on W. Main street. It’s an Italian-ish place – great, candle lit atmosphere, and phenomenal food. I had the grilled quail breasts with charred roasted tomatoes, and MF had the wood-smoked pork tenderloin with a brown sugar glaze. Accompanied with bread and dipping oil, it was fantastic. The service was also great – the bread basket stayed full, and my glass was always 3/4 full at least. Great place.

Alleia's Restaurant on W. Main Street

After dinner, MF and I opted to get dessert at the Ice Cream Show down by the walking bridge. We split a coffee/toffee ice cream bowl. Mmmm, so good. After that, we drove back up the mountain and went to the Rock City Christmas lights which was also amazing. We spent a good two hours walking around and enjoying the lights and the views. Beautiful night.

Best piece of advice i’ve received in a long time.

“Fear the One who can throw your soul into hell. No one else.”

I just spilled coffee all over myself. What a perfect way to start the day. :) On a different note, it’s a beautiful day and I’m listening to some good music – currently Coldplay, Viva la Vida.

And as of today, Mary Frances and I have been dating for ten months. Hands down, the most exciting part about today!