Christmas 2017 and New Year 2018

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! Our break was extended a bit, as we were supposed to go back today, but it is very icy outside, so school was cancelled.

Overall, my break was wonderful but also a little bit tiring. Joe spent the week of Christmas here, then I spent the week of New Year with him in Atlanta, and I'm going back to Atlanta this weekend for his birthday. (We have next Monday off of school due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.) I feel like I live in two states right now, and, honestly, it can be pretty trying. It gets harder and harder to be far away from Joe, and it really puts an emotional strain on both of us. We try to make the best of it, though.

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Joe and I did do one thing over break that we've never done together before. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but what's done is done.

We saw a movie together.

I honestly think we may have held the record for longest relationship without ever going to the theatre to see a movie together. We've been dating since September 2016, were engaged in April 2017, and will be married in June 2018, and we just saw our first movie together. (For the record it was The Last Jedi, which was totally awesome.) I guess I'll need to console myself with the knowledge that we still hold the record for longest relationship without being friends on Facebook. :)

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For a long time I've been a fan of Jennifer Fulweiler. Lately she's been focused more on her radio show and hasn't been writing as much, which makes me sad, but I still appreciate her insights and enjoy reading her archives. A few years ago she created a Saint's Name Generator, where you can click and randomly receive the name of a saint to learn more about, be your saint for the year, etc. This year for the first time she also created a word of the year generator. This generator will chose an inspiring word for you at random. Having a word to focus on for the year is something I read about a few years ago and have done in the past. I've focused on words such as "open," "hope," and "extraordinary." These are words that have come to me as I've thought about it, but this year I decided to try Jennifer's generator. The word I got:

Looks like 2018 will be a year pretty much like all the other years of my life. :) But I feel like maybe I should do more with it this year. Keep a list of books I read this year or something like that. I'll think about it. But in the meantime, find me on the Litsy app (annawhoismagic)!

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My gut tells me that this year will fly by, especially the rest of this school year. It seems hard to believe when it's so icy and cold outside, but I know it's true. I think summer break will be here again before we know it, and time will keep moving forward as it always does. I pray that I will take time to enjoy these moments of my life and not wish myself into the future. I pray 2018 is the best year yet for you, too.