Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas!

We want to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Clean Before You Decorate

Are decorating your apartment for the Holidays?  Make sure to do a thorough cleaning of your apartment before you start hanging the tinsel.  Keep reading and learn more at Apartment Therapy.
 
Dust: Dusting surfaces with a damp cloth will make everything feel fresh and help you (literally) breath easier as the post-Thanksgiving rush begins. And who wants to hang stockings on a mantle covered with old, dead skin cells?

Floors: A good vacuum or mopping of the floors will ensure that corners behind the tree are clean and clear with no surprise dust bunnies lurking behind gifts on Christmas morning. Plus, if you're entertaining over Thanksgiving, chances are you've had lots of feet treading in and out of your house; even more reason to re-clean between holidays.

Ceilings: Swiping ceilings with a feather duster or brush head of your vacuum will clear away any cobwebs that may have gone unnoticed before the holidays. But with twinkle lights and tree toppers drawing the eye upward and lighting the ceiling, now's the time to clean overhead.

Kitchen: Your kitchen may have been working double duty preparing for Thanksgiving, so now's the time to freshen it up by cleaning the oven, counters, cabinets, floors, stovetop, and sink. Starting with a clean, blank slate will make holiday cooking and baking much more enjoyable than working on top of a mess that's already there.

Closets: Cleaning closets and purging unneeded items is the perfect thing to do now. You'll make room for any house guests you may have in the coming weeks to put their things, or simply for party guests to hang their coats in a coat closet for an evening. Plus, you'll be freeing up space in your closet for any wardrobe-related gifts you might receive over the holidays.

Windows: While spring cleaning is often the time folks hit their windows, late fall is an extremely apt time to do so, as well. Shorter days and longer nights mean less sunshine making its way inside, so clean windows will let in as much sunlight as possible during this darker time of the year. Plus, twinkle lights in a clean window are multiplied and beautified by the sparkle and shine; grimy windows can put a damper on all of those decorations really fast.

Decorate Your Apartment with Your Old Textbooks

Are you looking for a new Christmas tree in your apartment?  What about a book tree?  These can be great decorations with meaning behind them.  Keep reading and try to make your own book tree.  Apartment Therapy has great holiday ideas for every room in your home.

 

The talented ladies at my local public library created a few charming book trees out of a seldom-used set of reference books, a string of lights, and an old, unreadable book. Perhaps you have similar supplies around the house?

Your collection of Babysitters' Club book would make a perky, pastel tree, while the complete works of James Patterson would create a huge and darkly dramatic tree, full of ominous titles such as 1st To Die and Cross Fire. Bonus points for Merry Christmas, Alex Cross! A set of leatherbound books with gold writing would make for a particularly rich and glamorous tree.

Simply arrange a layer of books in a rough circle, and build from there, staggering the books across the gaps in each previous layer, and moving inward as you work. It may take a few attempts (or a particularly analytical mind) to figure out how big to make each layer, but it's a mess-free low-stress sort of problem to figure out. Once the books are stacked to your liking, drape sparkly lights around the whole thing.

If you'd like to take the theme even further, use an unwanted book to create a book tree topper- a tutorial can be found at Creative "Try"als. You could also use any paper that matches your color scheme to craft a folded paper tree to put on top - Julep and Madame Bonbon have tutorials.

If you do create a book tree, please show off a photo!

Red Raider in the Mascot Challenge

 Raider Red, Texas Tech University’s costumed public relations mascot and reigning National Mascot of the Year, has made it to the final four in the playoff rounds of the Capital One 2013 Mascot Challenge.

Week two of the playoffs finds Red seeded No. 3 and competing against second-seed Sparty of Michigan State University. Raider Red bested Smokey from the University of Tennessee in the quarter finals. The playoffs are a single-elimination vote with only two rounds remaining.

Red’s three regular-season losses came in week one against East Carolina’s PeeDee the Pirate, week three versus South Florida’s Rocky the Bull and week 10 against Wisconsin’s Bucky Badger.

This week’s 25-point challenge is “What is your mascot’s playoff superstition?” For 100 points, voters can upload a video or photograph supporting Red with a playoff beard. Each upload also must use the #CapitalOneRaiderRed hashtag.

Fans also can follow Raider Red on Facebook.com/TTURaiderRed and Twitter @TTURaiderRed.

The mascot with the most votes at the end of the championship round will be the Capital One National Mascot of the Year and will be announced during the 2014 Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2014. The winner will be awarded a $20,000 scholarship to help fund its school’s mascot program. Each of the 2013 participants also will receive $5,000 for their university mascot program.
- See more at: http://today.ttu.edu/2013/12/raider-red-makes-semifinals-in-mascot-challenge/#sthash.wyiHuaA2.dpuf
The Red Raider mascot is a contestant in the National Mascot of the Year Challenge sponsored by Capital One.  He is the reigning national champ.   Make sure to vote for our favorite Raider to regain his title.  You can find out more at Texas Tech.

Raider Red, Texas Tech University’s costumed public relations mascot and reigning National Mascot of the Year, has made it to the final four in the playoff rounds of the Capital One 2013 Mascot Challenge.
Week two of the playoffs finds Red seeded No. 3 and competing against second-seed Sparty of Michigan State University. Raider Red bested Smokey from the University of Tennessee in the quarter finals. The playoffs are a single-elimination vote with only two rounds remaining.
Red’s three regular-season losses came in week one against East Carolina’s PeeDee the Pirate, week three versus South Florida’s Rocky the Bull and week 10 against Wisconsin’s Bucky Badger.
This week’s 25-point challenge is “What is your mascot’s playoff superstition?” For 100 points, voters can upload a video or photograph supporting Red with a playoff beard. Each upload also must use the #CapitalOneRaiderRed hashtag.
Fans also can follow Raider Red on Facebook.com/TTURaiderRed and Twitter @TTURaiderRed.
The mascot with the most votes at the end of the championship round will be the Capital One National Mascot of the Year and will be announced during the 2014 Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2014. The winner will be awarded a $20,000 scholarship to help fund its school’s mascot program. Each of the 2013 participants also will receive $5,000 for their university mascot program.
- See more at: http://today.ttu.edu/2013/12/raider-red-makes-semifinals-in-mascot-challenge/#sthash.wyiHuaA2.dpuf

The outdoor ceremony begins with the carillon concert at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 3. in the Science Quad and Memorial Circle.

On Dec. 3 Texas Tech University will host the 55th annual Carol of Lights celebration “55 Years of Magical Memories.” The outdoor ceremony, in the Science Quad and Memorial Circle, will begin with the carillon concert at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m.
Due to Thanksgiving being later in the month of November and final exams starting the week after Thanksgiving, Carol of Lights has been moved from Friday to Tuesday in order to support students’ academic success.
The Residence Halls Association (RHA) sponsors Carol of Lights, which began in 1956. The ceremony now draws nearly 20,000 students, faculty, staff, and local residents as the Texas Tech choirs, Masked Rider and Raider Red help celebrate the ceremony. More than 25,000 red, white and orange lights illuminate the Texas Tech campus at the end of the annual ceremony and stay lit through the holiday season.
As Texas Tech and the RHA continue their commitment to sustainability, nearly all of this year’s lights will be transitioned to LED bulbs, which is projected to reduce energy consumption by 87 percent.
Immediately following the Carol of Lights ceremony, the Texas Tech School of Music will hold its annual Carols Concert in Hemmle Recital Hall beginning at 8 p.m.
This year, Carol of Lights will be broadcasted live for audiences far and wide. Through a Google+ Hangout on Air, anyone can view a live stream of the event, processional and concert from a number of different angles starting at 6:30 p.m. In addition, a Twitter timeline to experience others’ reactions will run along side the broadcast. To view, click here.
- See more at: http://today.ttu.edu/2013/12/carol-of-lights-55-years-of-magical-memories/#sthash.QOJyS1Fr.dpuf

The outdoor ceremony begins with the carillon concert at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 3. in the Science Quad and Memorial Circle.

On Dec. 3 Texas Tech University will host the 55th annual Carol of Lights celebration “55 Years of Magical Memories.” The outdoor ceremony, in the Science Quad and Memorial Circle, will begin with the carillon concert at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m.
Due to Thanksgiving being later in the month of November and final exams starting the week after Thanksgiving, Carol of Lights has been moved from Friday to Tuesday in order to support students’ academic success.
The Residence Halls Association (RHA) sponsors Carol of Lights, which began in 1956. The ceremony now draws nearly 20,000 students, faculty, staff, and local residents as the Texas Tech choirs, Masked Rider and Raider Red help celebrate the ceremony. More than 25,000 red, white and orange lights illuminate the Texas Tech campus at the end of the annual ceremony and stay lit through the holiday season.
As Texas Tech and the RHA continue their commitment to sustainability, nearly all of this year’s lights will be transitioned to LED bulbs, which is projected to reduce energy consumption by 87 percent.
Immediately following the Carol of Lights ceremony, the Texas Tech School of Music will hold its annual Carols Concert in Hemmle Recital Hall beginning at 8 p.m.
This year, Carol of Lights will be broadcasted live for audiences far and wide. Through a Google+ Hangout on Air, anyone can view a live stream of the event, processional and concert from a number of different angles starting at 6:30 p.m. In addition, a Twitter timeline to experience others’ reactions will run along side the broadcast. To view, click here.
- See more at: http://today.ttu.edu/2013/12/carol-of-lights-55-years-of-magical-memories/#sthash.QOJyS1Fr.dpuf