i'm on break.

i have been on vacation for one week now. boy do i love vacations. so far i have completed the christmas shopping, except for the tall one, baked some amazing gingerbread snowman cookies that are already gone, made a few christmas cards, made a big paper chain for the christmas tree. also yesterday, my big outing was to get movie tickets to see my name is bruce. this is the new bruce campbell movie. he was actually at the theater doing a q&a after the movie. it was great. that man is really funny. he was just telling everyone exactly how it is. one girl asked bruce campbell to call her friend in kansas. so he did. only it was a "Prank phone call..." you've heard of those, right. he asked the dude if he wanted insurance. the guy said yes. so then he said, "well take that insurance and stick it in your *s$!" and hung up. a few minutes later the guy called his friend back and the phone was handed back to bruce. the guy said on speaker phone, "is this bruce campbell?" we, as an audience, cheered. at that point the guy said "if i was back in Ca, i would be there right now..." and bruce said "yea, but your not, so you aren't. and hung up. it was pretty hilarious. made only funnier by the fact that kansas time is 2 hours later than ours and it was 12 here. so it was 2 am there. it was funny. we had fun and the movie was the cheesey camp you expect from him so we were not let down in the least.
the weather has also turned sunny. i guess that is what happens when scott and his girlfriend go to hawaii. it gets almost nice here (it rained and was cold for the four days they were here). so it warms up to at least the mid 50s every day, and is sunny. our neighbor has jonquils now. (that is daffodils or buttercups to some of y'all.) i think things are good. i got my grades. i got a 3.58. i'm not too pumped about a 3.5, but i was talking to my ma and she reminded me that the first year is the exact same as med school, and people fail out of that all the time. so i feel better now. and only 11 quarters left to go. if you time it out in 10 week quarters, (not counting breaks) i only have 110 weeks left in school. sweet! we should make a little paper chain for that. :) count down the weeks. 110, 109, 108... you get the idea. i will talk to you all soon. call if you get bored. i got nothing but time until my family comes on the 26th. yippee!!

thanks

we had our thanksgiving. it almost went off without someone going completely mad, but then i woke up grumpy. so by almost went off , i mean didn't even come close. i got kicked out of the kitchen while i was making breakfast because i was so grumpy. so i took a shower and came back rejuvenated. i had been juvenated. then i went to the shower and got juvenated again. rejuvenated. so we ate the breakfast and shea arrived. thank goodness he was first. he is always so easy to entertain. i re started cooking. all was well. we enjoyed a lovely huge meal and a little rock band. not a bad day. we had 11 people here. not bad for being new to town. on friday we got a new tv, courtesy of black friday sales. usually i try to buy nothing like a good little revolutionary, but this year i failed. we got a sweet tv. 5 inches bigger than the last. and anti glare screen. better for rock banding. then i took two naps. not everyone can boast of two naps in one day. i felt good. saturday i spent some time doing a take home test (8 hours i believe was the total time spent doing the test). what ever. that is far too much cell physiology for me to wrap my head around. i spent the evening having solo time with my friend melissa making christmas ornaments and drinking wine. it was a nice night. sunday was study time at a local eatery with a girl from my school. i really like her. her name is sandy. she is pretty nice. so we spent four hours there. not so bad. also i got to talk to allison that day. i was sad to hear i missed rob's mom's advent tea. i do love cookie's cookies. but i was glad i was missing the snow. let me tell you one more silly story...on saturday, i watched my neigbors pull the christmas tree off their car and into their house. it was 70 degrees here. 70! that is christmas.? i kind of love it. today was chilly though. did i tell you i got another hair cut? the last one looked a little mushroom--y with the layers. i just looked silly. so now i look normal. regular short hair. like i draw me. you picture it? i only have two weeks left in school this quarter. that means 8 more tests (i took one today, and one class is just show up for an A). then i get a three week vacation. and my parents will be here. and old roommate scott is coming with girlfriend angela. i think it will be a fabulous time.
also on thanksgiving we all went around the table and said out loud what we were thankful for. it is one of shea's traditions. 90% of the people at the thanksgiving had just moved here around the time we did, and most of us were thankful we were here. even dust. thankful for liking his job and being happy here. me for realizing i am smart, and i can do this school thing and getting to do all that this wonderful place where winter never happens. i was thankful for my geography and all that came with it. melissa was thankful to live in an expensive city and not be in the financial trouble that a lot of american's are in. she was thankful her life was good. andy was thankful to be here in town with her. and scott was thankful for being in a cool place. not like cleveland ( that is where he came from). anyway. i think we convinced shea this place was pretty cool, and he told me friday when we were walking to lois the pie queen, he would move here in the spring. i will now never let him off the hook. come spring, i will be on him like a dirty shirt. anything to get him here sooner. i think it would make dustin even happier to be here if he had his be fri. you know. so two weeks. then we sleep. and eat breakfast out and christmas shop and play. play. play. xoxo to all! hope you had a good thanksgiving. wish you were here.

pictures, my friends

finally, halloween is up. this is us in all our glory. we worked up stunts as ice skaters. that pretty much makes us the coolest kids on the block. and you gotta love andy. he made those fancy beer coozies. swanky! claudia came up with the idea to make socks into ice skates. be sure to check out that. and remember...we rode the bart downtown in those sweet suits! we are the cooooolest. be proud of our greatness. it gives you something to strive towards. *




(* note the sarcasm, i am no fool)

i'm the #1 dork in this house

this week was eventful. boring eventful, but eventful, nonetheless. i made a few more a's on a few more tests. ( i know--i had more tests?!?) and i signed up to start a diplomate program in neurology (if i am gonna call myself a doctor of the nervous system, i better sign up for that, right). it all starts in january. also i got elected as treasurer of the neurology club. that is the fourth place of dorks in the school. let's face it no one really thinks neurology is cool except for the dorks, right. well there is a president, a vp, and a secretary who are more dorky than me. so i'll have to settle for fourth place at school. but i'll still be #1 in your hearts.
so far the count is 8a's and two b's. not so bad. i take three tests this week and then i am home free until after thanksgiving. so that is good. hopefully, i can boost those b's, but if not, who cares?
dust took off work today. it is the first time in about a month that we have had breakfast together. so that was nice. i told folks to come to a study session at three, so i had to leave for that. but i am home now. he cleaned the house. man, it looks good here. also he said that over thanksgiving we can make christmas ornaments. you all know i love christmas!! i already started the shopping. so get ready. (nothing more than 12$, dust, so don't be alarmed. :) ) i know that christmas might have to be less this year since half of it will be half financed by loans. that is stinky. there is so much i want to get everyone. one year.
also november birthday folks, your gifts should be there by monday, if they weren't there saturday. none too fancy. just fun to get things in the mail. you know.
i have not talked to quinn lately. and i miss her. so if you see her, tell her this is true. i will probably call over thanksgiving. so get your phone out and on. (tell her that, too :) ) also rose is coming for thanksgiving. little rose pants. i am happy to see her.
we saw the new bond movie. not horrible. we saw zach and miri make a porno. funny. we ate at a new breakfast place today called rudy's can't fail cafe. it was great. so i think that is the week in review. mostly me studying (boring). but i also got to talk to karen on the phone this morning. that was good. and i chatted with kristina on the computer yesterday. so i feel like i am keeping in contact pretty well. i email abby and karen abel --tell her congrats, by the way. she just became the grandmother of a little granddaughter--isabel. note the abel in the end of the name. cute huh. so i am pretty much up to speed on most of you. but i do need to know how the wedding planning is going. what has been done, what are the stresses, what is up? i miss you all.
and if you haven't heard from me by thanksgiving, call then. i want to talk to everyone.
xoxo
cortney

ahhh!!!!

it was a hot week. not for a long time have we had weather in the lower eighties or high 70's the week before dustin's birthday. maybe that has never happened, but either way, claudia and i needed to be outside.

i bought these stickers that look like space invaders ( the video game from the late eighties, i think.) they are restickable and pretty amazing. now no one will know we have no headboard on the bed. it just looks cool.
here is an update for everyone who doesn't already know. dustin had a birthday. it was a week long celebration. (as it should be!)


there was rockband on friday.

andy sang hungry like a wolf in the wolf hat. it was a real highlight of friday night.


it was a real celebration. even forrest got to rocking!


then came the big day. claudia and i got our hair cut while dustin worked. wen he got home he opened gifts. here are the highlights!
gift one: a huge beer! from our friend scott who lives in san jose. gift two: a fancy wig from jeremy and allison and the cute boys! and me sporting the nice wig. the beads are key.


i got dust an amoeba gift certificate and some new birthday shoes.
melissa and andy got dust blood that sticks to the window.
ahh the gifts just keep coming. they finished the big beer...

then we went to the dinner and the bar.


came home for cake.

mona liked the shoes, too. pretty cute, huh.

the next morning, right when we woke up, shea was here. and we all walked to the chicken and waffles restaurant. then dust and shea spent a lot of time and money in amoeba records. it was pretty much their best day.

pancake party 2008

these are my back to school shoes i told you about.




the precious!! isn't the purple to die for. i just love my fancy new phone.



the wolf hat helped claudia and i celebrate dustin's birthday month. i don't think he was as excited about the hat as we are, but....

you get the side view, too. it is a beaut!



the fabulous pancake chefs!!

chocolate chips, bananas, cinnamon apples, raspberries, and candies pecans. yummy!!
tots

the fruits of our labor.




the fruits who enjoyed our labor.
that is pretty much my day. pancake party!!!