holiday madness
Finally back at work and trying to get into a normal routine again. The holidays were amazing and fun and family-filled, as usual. I spent a weekend at mom's, where I got to meet up with Julie and see her gorgeous house, and then did Christmas Eve through Wednesday just me and Ryan. It was glorious. I spent 36 hours straight in my pj's! We watched a lot of movies, I cooked some yummy meals, we spent an afternoon downtown and an evening at Wildlights at the Zoo, and mostly just relaxed, enjoyed each other's company, stayed up late and slept in. Aaahhh.
Last Thursday we headed for the Chicago area, stopping to do lunch with Ryan's family in Brownsburg. We did dinner with Kent and Erica and Kent's family and hung out at their house for a few hours. It was GREAT to see them - I think it's been at least 2 years since Kent and I have managed to be in Chicago at the same time. Friday was Christmas with Dad.
Then we made a trek to Iowa for the extended family gathering, which I always love. There are so many kids under 5 now who just love to smother you with hugs and kisses and ask you to dance with them and snuggle on the couch. And also a lot of interesting, talkative adults who will carry on conversations with you over wine until waaay past your bedtime. It's seriously like the perfect family get together. I wish you could all be so lucky!
New Year's Eve was all great. We did a late lunch/early dinner with the Brady Bunch (that'd be Deb, her kids, Dad, his kids, and various significant others), and then had a pajama party complete with lots of alcohol, snacks, and new's year's hats/noise makers/confetti poppers, watched the bears get their butts kicked, played catch phrase, watched the countdown, etc. It kinda makes me never want to go out to a hot bar filled with obnoxious drunks ever again for New Year's.
Oh, here's (most) of what Santa brought me this year:
Canon Digital Rebel Xti and various accessories (yeah, Ryan waaaay over did it, but it's getting great use already!)
Joy of Cooking 75th anniversary edition
Cephalon sauce pan
Chef's knife
Purdue clock for the office, aka "the Purdue room" (and Ryan got a Boilermaker street sign)
Heater for the tent to use when we camp (and Ryan got our lantern)
Pedicure foot spa
Electronic Catchphrase
A few gifts from Ireland
A bunch of things I'm sure I'm forgetting
I got Ryan an iPod nano, and his parents gave us a nice gift card to Lowe's. Which we already spent. On what, you ask? Why, ceramic tile, paint, and all the appropriate supplies and tools to re-tile and re-paint the kitchen and laundry room. We started last night, doing all the prep work - removing baseboards, cleaning, taping, moving appliances. So that's what my next 4-5 days will be filled with. Boo to not having a kitchen to cook in. And basically right when we're done, Ryan leaves on another business trip (oh, and did I mention he'll be leaving yet AGAIN for TEN MORE DAYS only a week after he gets back from this one? I hate his job in the winter, I really do. Grr!)
So, yeah, that's what I've been up to. I hope you all had a few days off work and some fun times with your family and friends. Have a wonderful 2007!
Last Thursday we headed for the Chicago area, stopping to do lunch with Ryan's family in Brownsburg. We did dinner with Kent and Erica and Kent's family and hung out at their house for a few hours. It was GREAT to see them - I think it's been at least 2 years since Kent and I have managed to be in Chicago at the same time. Friday was Christmas with Dad.
Then we made a trek to Iowa for the extended family gathering, which I always love. There are so many kids under 5 now who just love to smother you with hugs and kisses and ask you to dance with them and snuggle on the couch. And also a lot of interesting, talkative adults who will carry on conversations with you over wine until waaay past your bedtime. It's seriously like the perfect family get together. I wish you could all be so lucky!
New Year's Eve was all great. We did a late lunch/early dinner with the Brady Bunch (that'd be Deb, her kids, Dad, his kids, and various significant others), and then had a pajama party complete with lots of alcohol, snacks, and new's year's hats/noise makers/confetti poppers, watched the bears get their butts kicked, played catch phrase, watched the countdown, etc. It kinda makes me never want to go out to a hot bar filled with obnoxious drunks ever again for New Year's.
Oh, here's (most) of what Santa brought me this year:
Canon Digital Rebel Xti and various accessories (yeah, Ryan waaaay over did it, but it's getting great use already!)
Joy of Cooking 75th anniversary edition
Cephalon sauce pan
Chef's knife
Purdue clock for the office, aka "the Purdue room" (and Ryan got a Boilermaker street sign)
Heater for the tent to use when we camp (and Ryan got our lantern)
Pedicure foot spa
Electronic Catchphrase
A few gifts from Ireland
A bunch of things I'm sure I'm forgetting
I got Ryan an iPod nano, and his parents gave us a nice gift card to Lowe's. Which we already spent. On what, you ask? Why, ceramic tile, paint, and all the appropriate supplies and tools to re-tile and re-paint the kitchen and laundry room. We started last night, doing all the prep work - removing baseboards, cleaning, taping, moving appliances. So that's what my next 4-5 days will be filled with. Boo to not having a kitchen to cook in. And basically right when we're done, Ryan leaves on another business trip (oh, and did I mention he'll be leaving yet AGAIN for TEN MORE DAYS only a week after he gets back from this one? I hate his job in the winter, I really do. Grr!)
So, yeah, that's what I've been up to. I hope you all had a few days off work and some fun times with your family and friends. Have a wonderful 2007!