Yes, I know I have been practically nonexistent the past couple of months - working 2 jobs and being a full-time grad student is very . . . time consuming.

However, lest you forget I am still here, I thought I’d bombard your feedreader in celebration of my third blogiversary. Yes, Suspension of Disbelief is 3 years old today. Quite a bit has happened to me since I started my blog. I’ve graduated from college and started graduate school - twice. I’ve gotten my first AND second non-summer jobs, I’ve lost both of my grandmothers, I’ve adopted kittens . . . and so much more!

Thanks for sticking with me, even if I’m not consistent AT ALL. It still makes me feel appreciated to know that you are here when I do have the time to blog. And I promise, at some point, things will settle down enough so that I can get back to a bit more regular blogging routine. Thanks for your support!

For me, Christmas starts when Santa goes across the screen at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The holidays are officially here!

TiVo, in a rare moment unreliability, decided to delete the parade before I got a chance to watch it. Grrr . . .

So I started Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Mama and I went and bought a very real(istic fake) tree for my apartment. My first Christmas tree! I brought up all my Christmas decorations from Florida the last time I was home, so I put out all my Nutcrackers and my nativity set, and then left the tree for another day (since I wasn’t feeling well).

Last night I got the tree all set up - AJ helped me by putting it together and helping me fluff out all the limbs (he’s pretty good at it, LOL)! I then sorted through all my ornaments. There was a bag that I set aside that would be great for a little girl (but are a little too young and pink for me), and the rest I put on the tree. Drumroll please . . .

This is my lovely decorated apartment !

My first Christmas tree!

And a little close up of some ornaments:

Some of the ornaments are newer, like the little Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that look just like Ella and Olive and the little Moravian star to remind me of Winston-Salem, NC (where I attended both undergraduate school at Wake Forest University and graduate school at North Carolina School of the Arts). Others are very old, like the pink sand dollar with a Nutcracker (this was given to me when I danced in the Nutcracker for the first time) and the blue and yellow angels (these hung on my mother’s Christmas tree when she was a girl)!

As I have mentioned, I have a Nutcracker collection, so here is a look at it:

Hmm, let’s get a little closer! Here are Steinbach wisemen . . .

And Steinbach Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare!

And a few more that I have on a bookcase near the kitchen (the short one on the left was my mother’s first nutcracker from before I was born - it’s the first in my collection)!

And my nativity set - I just got this last year and LOVE it!

The only thing I’m missing is an Advent wreath for my table, but that may have to wait until next year.

So, now I’m ready for Christmas for the first time in my adult apartment. Ahhh! I’m so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is anyone else into Heroes? I watched about the first 2/3 of the show and then stopped because it was on at the same time as 24. Now I’m catching up to be ready for the new season (which starts September 24 - soon!).

OK, so I just finished watching the episode “Five Years Gone” . . . WHAT?!?!?! There is so much crazy stuff that I don’t even know where to begin! So many things connect . . . my mind is still reeling . . .

Can’t wait for the new season!!! Thoughts people?

OK, so there have been rumors going around that Netflix was going to launch a way to watch movies online for its members, and this week it finally launched! Click here to read on Lifehacker how to activate this feature in your Netflix account.

I gave this service a try this weekend and all I’ve got to say is AMAZING! The movies are available 24/7, you can pause, fast forward, all that . . . and since Netflix is doing it, you get the amazing Netflix recommendations as well as a list of what movies are available to “Watch Now” from your Queue.

The only thing that isn’t perfect is the fact that the selection isn’t massive, but with my past experiences with Netflix, I know this won’t be the case for long. Yet one more reason why Netflix rocks my socks!

Movies available IMMEDIATELY, no wait time necessary! Already included in your membership! No wasted paper, gasoline, or money for mailing DVDs back and forth! Right on Netflix, this sooooooooo works for me!

By the way, in case there was any suspicion, I am NOT getting paid to say this - I just really like Netflix!