christmastime

what a wonderful christmas break. we:

acted out the nativity scene with the myres family for the millionth time.


enjoyed our first married christmas together. tommy and i bought each other instruments without knowing it--i got him a violin and he got me (us) a piano keyboard! (and a dictionary, which is what i'm holding in this picture--i really did want one.) i am just SO excited to have a keyboard!

went on a walk on the beach with the family on christmas day.

all in all, it's been a beautiful christmas break. we're leaving on wednesday to drive up to utah and spend new year's eve with tommy's family, possibly go skiing, and get ready for yet another semester. ha.

15 Things You Should Know about Laura Alyse Murphy Leininger:

1. Alyse can never keep Jack Johnson and John Mayer straight. She can tell the difference (I think), but she can never remember who is who. Kind of random since they are fairly different styles.
2. One time Alyse and I were walking down the Walk of Fame. We saw Bill Cosby’s star and Alyse said, “Wait! Is Bill Cosby related to Bing?” Hmm… She has a hard time keeping Crosby and Cosby straight. Not to mention the fact that they are different races.
3. Alyse secretly likes it when I sing Boyz II Men to her. Even though she usually tells me to stop, I know she secretly really likes it. Same with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
4. The only man that I consider a threat to me is Jude Law. Alyse finds him very agreeable. Good thing he’s an immoral person and he’s no match for my statistical prowess.
5. Alyse can probably beat me at basketball—I haven’t dared play her one-on-one, so I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t put money on me.
6. Alyse is actually a decent cook, though she tells everyone how horrible she/we are. Mostly we just don’t have time or cooking ingredients. She makes a mean grilled cheese.
7. Although kids aren’t in the near future, Alyse loves kids and they love her. We volunteer watching some special needs kids and that is where I realized she’s going to be a great mom. Also, we volunteered in Nursery and now she has a new boyfriend in the ward. His name is Chance and he’s two. He’s probably a bigger threat than Jude Law, on second thought.
8. Alyse’s blog isn’t really an anti-blog.
9. Alyse really likes part-Asian babies.
10. Alyse has an instant six-pack body. She can stop exercising for months, do sit-ups one day, and have a six-pack the next day. Not that I’m going to let any of you see her six-pack.
11. Alyse has the most beautiful hair. No surprise there. I just wanted to make it known that I am a big fan of it.
12. Alyse is a passionate person. She isn’t high-strung or high-maintenance (thank heavens), but she is passionate about what she does, whether it be writing a paper, training for a half-marathon, or getting pumped about the U2 concert. I love it.
13. Alyse is SO hard-working. She honestly puts in her best effort for anything worthwhile. Also, she is very determined to succeed. She has spent dozens of hours on her writing sample and statement of purpose for grad school applications. She also took her statement of purpose to several people to get advice and feedback so that she would be giving her best work. I almost turned mine in without having anyone look at it, but luckily Alyse stopped her work to fix mine.
14. Alyse is very humble, more than she knows. She always thinks she’s going to fail a paper or a class, only to get something ridiculous like a 97% (see her previous post). She is an amazing person with amazing talents, but sometimes she is too conscientious of ways that she can improve and doesn’t fully realize how wonderful she is.
15. I love Alyse.

--Thomas Jeffrey Leininger

UNC-Chapel Hill

so i submitted my first grad school application yesterday. it was due yesterday, and i finished it about 4 hours before the day was over. YES.
but the important thing is that it's in.

unc is really the place i want to go the most out of anywhere else we're applying. tommy would be going to duke and we would have to compete when our schools played each other in basketball. and i think i did a pretty good job on my application--i got a 97% on the research paper that i turned in for my writing sample and i spent who knows how long doing it.

unfortunately, unc has a 9% acceptance rate.

yeah, right.

dear santa

what i'd like for christmas this year:

books books books
new scriptures
running shoes
running clothes for cold weather
a piano
piano skills
no homework OR to get into grad school (one or the other)
for sarah to come home
a coat rack for our front room
lifetime supply of honey bunches of oats
a few new shirts
boots that aren't ugly
world peace

but santa, whatever you can do out of that list would be great.

what i've learned this semester

among other things:

-i cannot multitask.
-i really like my english classes, even when i hate them. and i really really hope i get into grad school.
-if i don't exercise semi-regularly, i become oscar the grouch.
-never again take the evening section of university chorale.
-i'm a semi-closet feminist. go read the feminine mystique... you'll become one too.
-feel free to split your infinitives.
-the hot water in our shower lasts for less time than i usually take for a shower.
-icelandic is very hard. eg veit ekki. eg heiti alyse. eg mun tala ekki islensku gott. that's about all i've got.
-question authority.
-i am lucky.
-U2 ROCKS.
-for some reason, i now like hot chocolate. (i didn't before.)
-i like being taken seriously.
-i want to learn how to cook better.
-no matter how hard some people* try, they still cannot write good poetry.


*namely, me

i love love love love love this

this is my dream. i want to be a part of a large choreographed dance number in a random place like this someday. yet another thing on my list of things to do before i die.