November 30, 2004 - 8:13 p.m.

Happy Holidays

Thanksgiving itself and the rest of the long weekend were wonderful though sandwiched between two days of insufferable driving conditions. The trip down to Philadelphia was not fun, but it didn't hold a candle to the combination of traffic, rain, and vastly overcrowded rest stops on Sunday. Remind me, if I travel for Thanksgiving next year, to either fly or make the return trip on Saturday.

Luckily, the pleasure of visiting friends made up for the travel horrors. I spent Wednesday night through Friday evening with my friends Justin and Laura, who also hosted my former housemate and his wife who moved to Maryland this fall. It was great to see all of them, since they are all fantastic people. We talked, relaxed, ate mountains of delicious food cooked almost single-handedly by Laura, and geeked out a lot. It was great to be reunited with Scott and Annaliis, whom I have missed quite a bit since they moved, and every time I hang out with Justin and Laura I like them even more.

Friday night I drove even further south to Delaware to stay with my oldest friend, Barbara. We've known each other since registration for 7th grade, and though our lives have taken us in quite different directions, we always have a great time together. Plus, I got to hang out with her adorable three year-old son, who is charming enough to not make me begrudge giving up my child-free holiday time. :) Like my visit at J and L's, this one was very low-key. We played with the munchkin a lot, went to a knitting store to hook me up with supplies for yet another hobby, talked and laughed a lot, and generally caught up on one another's lives. We also went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse at the three year-old's suggestion, which proved to be a fantastic choice. For a reasonable price we got some of the tastiest, juiciest steak I have ever had. So, if you live near one of these restaraunts, take advantage of it. I recommend it highly. Then on Sunday morning, I headed back home blissfully unaware that the expected 7-8 hours in the car would turn into 10 and a half. I lived through it, though, and have fun memories to boot.

Here's a picture of me, Barbara, and her disgustingly cute offspring. :)

Since then, it's been pretty much life as usual back at home. I am gearing up for Christmas by brainstorming gift ideas for loved ones and trying to come up with a wish list of my own to pass on to family. The kids are getting excited about the holiday season already, and I helped B write some of his letter to Santa today. The kids have been really charming lately, which is taking a lot of the remaining sting out of the delay in my plans to change careers. I am very lucky to get to work with such smart, sweet, silly kids and watch them grow into unique individuals.

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