Post-Thanksgiving break

Well, I had hoped to have posted something before this, but every time I sat down to do it,


I couldn't come up with anything to write.

D & I made our trip to Philadelphia without mishap, despite the dubious driving practices of most of the state of Pennsylvania. Only one sharp braking and some swearing on my part, and I didn't damage the rental car in any way. Thursday's dinner was nice, & it was good to catch up with D's father, step-mom & grandmother. We had many rounds of food, and they even had strawberries with chocolate fondue (a nice touch with some coffee). In the evening, we watched Wall-E before turning in. I thought this was cute, but it must have been one of the most boring voice-acting jobs ever. "Ev-uh?" "Wall-ee" were the only two things those robots ever said!

On Friday, we did a grocery store run, visited some cousins, & got a fabulous dinner at a local Thai restaurant. Saturday, D & I drove home again (and good thing, Sunday was freezing rain all day, and I'm glad I wasn't driving up in the mountains for that).

Sunday, we went and bought a door for our kitchen, and picked up some random things at Busy Beaver (local hardware/home improvement chain), and at Target. We didn't fare too badly for a Target trip, and now we have enough paper towels and soap for the next year. At home, our friend M joined us for some Football viewing (Steelers won 33-10 in a very exciting game vs. New England). After football, we indulged in a Sushi extravaganza, and then visited a friend's new house down the street. A very full day, and neither one of us wanted to go to work this morning.

Poor D couldn't sleep last night, and I got up at 6 am to go for some exercise. It was a bit cold this morning, but once I got moving it was all right. I hope that this habit will stay around for awhile, or even that I can turn it into a habit, as I'm tired of carrying around the last 14 pounds that I gained in Sweden, many, many years ago. I don't like feeling fat, and I'm starting to feel pretty out-of-shape cardiovascularly as well. So, root for me to keep up the exercise.

I also noticed when I got home that I was much more alert after moving around than I usually am at 7 am. I put together a list, and drove down to the grocery store to replenish our completely empty fridge. Got back at 7:45, put food away, got dressed, and went to return the rental car on my way to work.

Having already bored you all with too much detail, I'll spare you the saga of forgetting to top off the gas tank, and getting from Hertz to school. Work stunk today, as I'm going through my files and reorganizing. And our lab is just not a comfortable environment socially. Still, I listened to a car talk podcast that I hadn't heard, got some stuff done, read some internet, did some ordering for an experiment next week, and filed my expense report for SFN (which I had forgotten to do last week). A wrapping up of loose ends kind of day.

D picked me up (his day was awful), and we headed to his mom's for dinner (special Kristmas Kielbasa, asparagus, salad, potatoes & leftover desserts from D's aunt N). Had a good time, and headed back with extra left-overs. D's mom & I made plans for a holiday cookie baking time on Sat morning. Then back home, where I did some dishes, and sat down to read blogs. Whew! I've been busy too, it seems.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, I know some of you did by reading your posts. I wish that I could have been with you all. Love you & have a good week!