Very busy! On Friday night, I made a nice baked mac n' cheese, did a little shopping, and went to a school cocktail party at a bar near Union Square. Won't see classmates again until classes start again after MLK Day.

Yesterday, I took Oliver out in the snow in the morning (he wasn't too impressed), finished my Finance take-home final during his nap, we all went caroling at Stynxno's church in the afternoon, and he and I went out last night for dinner to celebrate his approval for ordination (next stops: graduation, finding a job, then ordination). We tried to go on the High Line after dinner to experience the snowstorm up there, but it closes early during the winter! Booooooooo.

I woke up with a serious case of I DON'T WANNA DO NOTHINGS, but I still have one final left and it's the doozy: Policy. Two essays. My brain feels very mushy. Going over some notes and readings during naptime, hopefully things will start to gel in the next day or two so I can write and get it over with (I can't imagine I'll get much done today, even after Oliver goes to bed). Also took Oliver to a local church this morning for their new 9 am "children's service". There were 7 of us. So many beautiful churches in this neighborhood, so many empty seats (at least at the early services)!

Shit sandwich.

Meh.

Pretty good. Yesterday I went to a fancy tea place in Portland, and today I am watching the snow and wrapping the Christmas presents for the family members down in Florida. Now I just need a box . . . .

This was the neighborhood Christmas House Tour weekend so Mrs. O and I worked on volunteering Friday night and all day Saturday. She does the check-in desk and I was doing shifts as a tour guide. Instead of doing house tour guiding this year, I worked in the model train museum that's part of one of the houses that's always on tour. Lots of fun but lots and lots of talking.

The after-party for the volunteers is always a blast though.

Today, I'm studying for my job interview on Wednesday and relaxing a bit.

Not bad. Worked during much of the East Coast storm yesterday; arrived home just as it was turning from snow to rain in my part of the county. Of course I was on pins and needles until my son came home from work a few hours later - new driver/snow/slush/ice and all.

Today I finally was able to decorate the outside of my house for Christmas. And of course halfway through half of one strand decided to quit. But otherwise, I think it came out pretty good.

Unremarkable and I don't remember much of any of it. No substances were involved either.
I'm still enjoying the grtink grtink grtink grtink grtink grind of studded snow tires on the bike; I guess I did ride by a blind school student who looked really puzzled and I had to ride back by and say 'studded tires on a bicycle' which got the 'ah, ok' look on his face.

Friday: Dim memory of this. Erm, I did some shopping and hit the grocery store, came home, made dinner, slept.

Saturday: Woke up, went for a walk with LT, checked out the local junk shop and some downtown business. A little more shopping. Then hammered at my final paper for the rest of the day while waiting for the snow to come.

Sunday: Woke up late, skipped church, made a big bacon-and-eggs breakfast, then walked downtown. The ground was a sheet of slippery ice and just about everything was closed, so that was a bust. Came home, worked on paper. Took a break, made a dinner salad, now back to paper.

Can't wait 'til the semester's really over (Wednesday).

Still recuperating from this miserable bronchitis/respiratory infection. I really must go to work tomorrow. I was out sick all last week (in twelve years, I haven't had to miss a whole week like that -- I have documentation from the ER and a bank of saved sick days, but with my bosses, you can still get hassled). It's supposed to be bitter cold again tomorrow. I kind of whimper when I think about it. I don't have the energy to shower. Ah, well. If I can just get through this week, I have twelve days off. Meh.

I managed to make some chili tonight, which came out well, I think. Nice and spicy. Jon seemed to like it. And I'm watching the Survivor finale, which is a treat, even though none of the three finalists are favorites of mine. So it goes.

I'm so wiped out, I could sleep for a year.

Oh, that's rough, Pips. Sorry you feel so crappy.

me?
Friday - husband went out to see a band, I stayed at home and worked. Trying to get ahead of my workload so I don't have to take a full week off work between Christmas and NY.

Saturday - ballet recital for the kiddo in the morning. Afternoon was play, play, play. Took a nap, then went out with my husband, woo! Checked out a new restaurant in our neighborhood (verdict: very nice decor, pricey, middling to decent food depending on dish. discussion over finishing our wine was that we would give it another go and then we got the check which had the gratuity included for our party of two. kind of off-putting.) Then checked out a new bar in our 'hood. Verdict: excellent. We walked in and the first thing I saw was they had a bunch of Vermont beers on tap, incl. my favorite Shed Ale, which is dark and yummy.

Sunday - my sleep in morning. A good thing too because I was a little hungover. Dragged body out of bed around 9.30 and ran 5km. Broken leg completely better now, so I'm just slowly building up miles. Mooched around all day with the kiddo and then went into the Guggenheim to see Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Isaac Mizrahi. We were sitting like 10 feet from Mizrahi and Maddie blurts out "he's a judge on project runway allstars!" which was pretty funny.

Home with friends and dinner at a Greek restaurant and home to chill (we watched Thursday's project runway all stars, and Maddie was all a little confused). Kiddo to bed and worked all evening.

Friday was torture. Younger Boy is in full tween drama mode. Two hour sulk with wails and groans and me just gritting my teeth and keeping calm. For whatever reason it was easier dealing with the same thing in Older Boy. Of course when hubby got home and said a few sentences to him the kid was fine. Even jolly, despite the punishments dealt out.

Saturday wasn't bad. I started dedicated martial arts sessions with my instructor again and so far I'm not too rusty to pick up where I left off.

Sunday was intense. My church is going through some rough times, and it really could go either way. I've been through two church deaths now and I really don't want to go through another one. Problem for me is how to get involved without wiping myself out like I did the last few times.

Today is hubby's birthday and I completely forgot to wish him a happy one this morning. Gha!

I had a great weekend, thanks for asking!

Friday was a little weird, a good friend lost her job, and with it, her visa. She has to go back to the Land of Oz now, so Friday night was an impromptu ladies night at her house. I actually met a couple of really neat people who I look forward to seeing in the future. I am bummed that my friend is moving, but happy to meet a couple of new friends!

Saturday was as close to a perfect day as can be had. I got to take a nice long walk with the dog before the rain set in, but once it started raining I was in the kitchen the rest of the afternoon. I made beef and barley soup and hit the sweet spot with a couple of loaves of bread. Not long after the last loaf of bread came out of the oven, another good friend texted me to let me know that her youngest (who recently had a bone marrow transplant) was back home from the hospital after a two week stay for a post-BMT infection. HOORAY!! I quickly popped round her house to bring a fresh loaf of bread and soup.

Saturday evening I went with yet another friend, her MIL and daughter to a Messiah Singalong. I am not a strong singer, but this singalong has become an integral part of my holiday tradition, and I look forward to it year round. This year we had some amazing soloists, and the whole night was really special. Add to that, while we were singing, the UNC Tar Heels were beating up on the Kentucky Wildcats in the Dean Dome a mile from where we sang, so that was fun.

Sunday was a busy day. I baked a bread pudding and attempted to bake some almond crescent cookies. I mis-read the recipe, which called for one cup of butter, somehow I read one POUND of butter, now I have this crumbly almond shortbread mess. Maybe I can make a crust out of it for something else?

The Aussie friend who lost her job came over in the afternoon to strategize intercontinental household moving. She liked my crumbly cookies, bless her heart.
After getting in a nice walk with the dog again, we went out to do the last of our holiday shopping, then settled in for an evening of football. I am making a granny square scarf for a friend, so while my husband hollered for his Steelers (who beat the Bengals), I made a few more squares for my scarf. I may actually finish it by Christmas!

Then I fell asleep, the end.

I spent the weekend away in Delaware at a women's retreat at a state forest lodge. It was absolutely amazing. We had chocolate, so many delicious casseroles (which seemed to be an unofficial theme), so much coffee, tons of giggles and dirty jokes. There were beautiful ceremonies, including a wonderful Croning ritual which had women from several generations of the group present (including the first woman Croned by this group in 1983!) We had a red tent (that myself and one of my sisters slept in both nights).

Also, my great aunt Helen passed away on Saturday. She and I weren't exactly close and she was in a great deal of pain due to complications from a broken hip surgery. (The intubation from the surgery irritated her throat so much that she stopped eating.) I'm trying to see about making plans to go to her funeral in Florida on Saturday.

Mine was pretty good- a friend opened her new makeup lounge and I went to the launch party and also again just to hang out. I am so proud of her!
I had a lazy day Sat and then went to a cookie swap. Last night I had dinner with some girlfriends.
It's been too cold.