Breathe Yet? Not Quite

These past few weeks have been so filled with activities, both necessary and fun. I feel like we've barely had a moment to relax...except, I guess, we have been relaxing, too.

Tonight, Roger and I will be attending the ODU Fashion Show. Roger's department puts it on and it is a good idea to support friends and students. I think it will just be a fun time.

Last night, Samantha and Alex came over for dinner. I made a turkey. I know it is just a few days after Thanksgiving, but we did not have any leftovers and I was still wanting a turkey. I also made garlic smashed potatoes, roasted broccolini and baked pears with fresh whipped cream. Some wine and good conversation rounded out the night. It was a good time. This small dinner party landed just between the Saints beating the Redskins and the Cardinals beating the Vikings. I was quite happy with dinner and football (Roger did not get his way in the football category).

Saturday brought us to two parties, Amanda's kick-ass 80's themed 30th birthday blowout bash. It was something else. We had our prom pictures taken in front of the Pac-Man wall. There were 80's music and games and decorations galore. Fun night. We then headed to 37th and Zen for some music. We finally got to see Seed Is. The band's bass player and vocalist is married to my thesis adviser Avi. We got funky and enjoyed their unique spirit of music. I loved it! We can't wait to see them again.

Friday was Leanna's housewarming party. Another good time. We met a few people and admired her cool apartment. I also enjoyed some moments with the cat and dogs.

Last week was filled with Christmas shopping completion, wrapping presents and shipping most of them to Minnesota. It was a feat, but I succeeded in my tasks. It felt great to turn it all over to the UPS Store Friday afternoon. I think I got some good presents for the family. I can't wait for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the Schmid Christmas on the 27th.

Nikki came for Thanksgiving. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at Jennie, Pete and Jack's. It was nice to have a quiet day. Of course we did have Carl the Rotweiller duty all weekend and that made for some interesting times. We took Nikki to Jamestowne...it was blustery, but we did see the settlements. I still can't believe it has been over 400 years. Nikki's visit was brief but we had some good quality talks and some fun, too.

The Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving was my Ladies only Cocktail Party. 14 women arrived for some slightly strong Barefoot Contessa Pomegranite Cosmopolitans and a delicious spread of vegetarian and some meat dishes. It was a good night for visiting and laughing. This will definitely happen again.

So, as you can see, we keep busy. We have one week of classes then finals and the semester will be over. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown. We are both looking forward to Christmastime in Minnesota. Less than 2 weeks to go!!