Play it for Me Straight

Christmas is approaching fast and I mean FAST. I feel like the older I get the quicker it gets here because I'm not the impatient child I once was, asking my mom every two days if it was Christmas yet. i have this vivid memory from when I was maybe...eight, sitting on the edge of the couch talking to my brother who was probably around fifteen and him and I were talking about the joys of Christmas, everything we'd get to do and people we would see when all of a sudden the conversation began to progress into excited yelps and exclamations until I flipped over the arm of the couch onto my back. Pure.Bliss.
I am excited and I'm also trying to slim it down so I can fit comfortably into a dress I purchased from ModCloth <3 that is adorable and a wee tighter and shorter than expected. I'll wear it anyway. Time is dwindling and I still have packages on their way to me and some that still need to be ordered. I can't for the life of me think of things to get for the guys in my life. I always go straight to tools, but then realize that we're an artsy people and tools don't speak to us. Then I end up spending more than intended on a pair of nice shoes or a Starbucks gift pack of sorts.
We got our tree last night. Instead of studying for finals, I urged my mom to swing by the tree patch and pick up a tree. We found a perfect one, which at the moment is sitting out in the rain. It really only feels like Christmas when the tree gets brought in and the lights are put on. That's when I know and that's when I can be jolly- I can also be jolly when finals are over. Here's the thing, I already made my New Year's resolution because I figure why not? This year is flying by. I've decided to take piano lessons again so I don't continue to sound like an inexperienced idiot. I could have been really good had I stuck to lessons and that's the most pompous I'll ever get. I could have been probably seriously good if I hadn't quit when I was sixteen. I quit because I was sick of the teacher and sick of receiving Disney sheet music and going to workshops to play for other kids who played Mary Had A Little Lamb in a poor manner (that was mean, sorry). But, I did- I quit. I can still read notes, but I have been wondering: How good could I have been had I been going to lessons still to this day? So, I've decided to go back with the little knowledge and lack of skill I have left. What's the resolution you ask? Well, I'd like to learn (given a year)  "Ballad No.1 in G minor, Op. 23 Don't know it? Take a listen and watch til the very end