Christmas, New Years, and other things
Okay, okay. As promised, here's an update on all things Renée.
Christmas was here and went, and I must say it was a huge improvement over 2008. The shiny new fiancé was just one piece of it too. I'm generally a Christmas dork, so the holiday usually puts me in good spirits. We celebrated with his family on the 20th. His sisters, their families, his aunt and uncles, mom and dad were all there. We ate and laughed and opened presents, the last being the pictures of our engagement, which is how we told his parents. His mom shouted, "I knew it!" and hugged me. There was a general level of merriment, so it was nice.
On the 22nd we started East for Pittsburgh. We had a little snow on Tuesday night, but luckily we were only driving as far as Toledo. The next day was sunny and cheerful, and as each mile marker passed, I got a little more excited. We arrived at my parents' house around 1 and then promptly went out to lunch. Once we got back, I kept nudging Joe to go talk to my dad. Finally, he left, and I started to help my mom make cookies. I heard the two of them laughing as they walked downstairs, which could only be a good sign. My dad announced to my mom that he had been asked a question, and once he told her, she was excited.
We spent the rest of the holiday informing relatives and spending time together. My brother and Jeremiah showed up on Dec. 26. We took him to Phipps Flower Show and he loved all of his presents. It was a nice break, and relatively drama free.
Joe and I returned from Pittsburgh on the 27th. He and I both had to work Monday through Wednesday. Thursday we caught up on chores (like grocery shopping) and spent NYE playing Wii and watching Kathy Griffin on CNN. I called my sister at 11 p.m. (midnight eastern time) to wish her a happy 30th birthday. Then we made slow cooker oatmeal and went to sleep. Uneventful, but relaxing just the same.
I started classes up again last night. I'm taking 19th century Irish Lit and Milton. They should be good, and I've never extensively studied either, so I'm looking forward to it.
Other than that, we're slowly piecing our wedding together. I have a website: http://www.mywedding.com/josephandreneeherrmann/, if you guys are curious. I'll be doing most of my wedding blogging there to save this journal.
Hope you and yours had a fabulous holiday and a great start to the new year.
Christmas was here and went, and I must say it was a huge improvement over 2008. The shiny new fiancé was just one piece of it too. I'm generally a Christmas dork, so the holiday usually puts me in good spirits. We celebrated with his family on the 20th. His sisters, their families, his aunt and uncles, mom and dad were all there. We ate and laughed and opened presents, the last being the pictures of our engagement, which is how we told his parents. His mom shouted, "I knew it!" and hugged me. There was a general level of merriment, so it was nice.
On the 22nd we started East for Pittsburgh. We had a little snow on Tuesday night, but luckily we were only driving as far as Toledo. The next day was sunny and cheerful, and as each mile marker passed, I got a little more excited. We arrived at my parents' house around 1 and then promptly went out to lunch. Once we got back, I kept nudging Joe to go talk to my dad. Finally, he left, and I started to help my mom make cookies. I heard the two of them laughing as they walked downstairs, which could only be a good sign. My dad announced to my mom that he had been asked a question, and once he told her, she was excited.
We spent the rest of the holiday informing relatives and spending time together. My brother and Jeremiah showed up on Dec. 26. We took him to Phipps Flower Show and he loved all of his presents. It was a nice break, and relatively drama free.
Joe and I returned from Pittsburgh on the 27th. He and I both had to work Monday through Wednesday. Thursday we caught up on chores (like grocery shopping) and spent NYE playing Wii and watching Kathy Griffin on CNN. I called my sister at 11 p.m. (midnight eastern time) to wish her a happy 30th birthday. Then we made slow cooker oatmeal and went to sleep. Uneventful, but relaxing just the same.
I started classes up again last night. I'm taking 19th century Irish Lit and Milton. They should be good, and I've never extensively studied either, so I'm looking forward to it.
Other than that, we're slowly piecing our wedding together. I have a website: http://www.mywedding.com/josephandreneeherrmann/, if you guys are curious. I'll be doing most of my wedding blogging there to save this journal.
Hope you and yours had a fabulous holiday and a great start to the new year.