Ahem, dear diary: My birthday is tomorrow.

I may not be celebrating it tomorrow though, so I'm probably not as excited as I usually am around this time of year. Either that or I'm just getting old, hehe. (I shouldn't even be saying that, I'm still a baby. )

I'll probably end up celebrating it on Christmas Eve, which makes a great day even sweeter.

Okay, so... my mom somehow convinced me to decorate the cake with flowers. Not just flowers though, but butterflies, honey bees, dragonflies AND (believe it or not) caterpillars. I don't mind though, I have nothing against bugs.

So anyway. I got a haircut... kept the same length, only gave it more shape. I have shorter bangs now.  I think it looks nice. I definitely can wear it several different ways now, which is koo'. I like having options.

I plan to compete in the spring this coming tournament. I haven't promoted in awhile so I'll still be in the same old division... from watching those girls it looks like a piece of cake, but I'm going to refrain from becoming over confident. If I can't get a gold this time around then I should continue to compete in that division until I'm at that level before I decide to move on.

It's time for some serious training, yo'.

I've been thinking about the way I want to cut my hair and I did a little research this morning...

And I decided...
 ... I want it to look like that.

Hehe. Just kidding. I love the style I'm just not so sure that's the direction I want to go yet. I guess I will give it some more thought.

I found out my head is rectangular... who knew?

Out of all the things I want this year... the thing I want the most is my mother's health.

Feels like things are turning for the better. Her condition is changing drastically when for months it seemed like it wasn't going anywhere...

Have you ever had one of those moments that you felt like something was going to happen, or you just knew... and then a few days later someone confirmes it?

Yeah, that's what it's like.

We're finally putting up the tree.

Got up this morning and ate some miso soup. It was very good, but I couldn't finish it because I found an extra ingredient that wasn't meant to be in there.

I guess a little fly landed in the open pot on the stove. Nasty.

Anyway, I'm in the midst of finals week and need to finish a few things before the week is over. There isn't much this term, but they are as follows:

TUESDAY:
- Marketing Plan for new product
- Marketing Exam
- Biology Test (Surprisingly, this one is a piece of pie.)

WEDNESDAY:
- Math Exam

I've already had one of my finals on dead week and I got a lot of my assignments out of the way. I'm almost finished.

After finals week I need to go Christmas shopping for a couple people, see about going out with a few friends for my birthday and look into the possibility of getting a haircut. Hehe.

The rest of the year should be relatively easy-going after I'm finished with the term.

 Some history on the custom of gift giving during Christmas

The custom of exchanging gifts at Christmastime stems from an ancient Roman practice. During the Saturnalia, the Romans presented their emperor and each other with tokens of good luck, called strenae. At first, these had little material value, being merely symbols of the donor's good wishes. Later, it became customary to give precious gifts, including clothing and objects made of gold or silver.

The story of the Three Wisemen, who brought gifts to the Holy Child has also contributed to the Christmas tradition. Throughout the centuries the anniversary of the birth of Christ has renewed feelings of joy and thanksgiving in those who celebrate it.

Today, this wonderful tradition of giving still touches our hearts in a special way. It is not very difficult to look beyond all the colorful ribbons and bright paper to feel the same spirit of giving as on that very first Christmas. Afterall, the most precious gift is the gift of love.