Dear Friends and Family,
What a wonderful feeling! With our travels this year, we've been able to see a ton of friends we hadn't seen in so long. I feel like the past two years, the weekends were about cleaning up/setting up the houses to be put on the market. And, this year, we were able to use the weekends to catch up on all of the different house visits that were way overdue. And, we saved the two best for last - seeing our Twin Cities brethren and going home for the holidays.
We originally had grandiose plans to fly out Friday night, but we both had too much to do work-wise and home-wise to pull that off. So, we stayed in Friday and finished up a bunch of stuff. Then, we headed out first thing Saturday for the airport. Picked up the rental car, and stopped by our old dry cleaners. It was so good to catch up with her. She and her husband are both doing great. They're almost like an aunt and uncle to me - always asking if we have a baby yet and offering to take us out to dinner. They want us to stay over the next time we're in the Twin Cities, which will be tough, since, honestly, there are so many places that make more sense. They're always so glad to see us. It was a great way to start off the trip.
From there we went to our neighbors' house to drop off our stuff. Mr. mouse dropped me off at Salut for lunch with my girlfriends and he went back to the house for some Guitar Hero action. At Salut, we decided to forgo the table they had set up for us and grabbed a table at the bar instead. It worked beautifully because people came and went throughout the day instead of everyone showing up at once. I got to see Trixie, friend, and G. Then, G had to go and Mr. mouse showed up. And, friend had to go and Kris showed up. And, when Kris had to go, Ms. Jordan and my Turkish friend showed up. So, it was a steady stream throughout the day. And, Trixie, the trooper, showed up first and stayed the whole time. I love her. Everyone seems to be doing well and, fortunately, no one's changed a ton from the last time I've seen them. I do need to schedule phone time with Trixie once her travel schedule calms down so that we can really catch up on stuff you can't really talk about in group talk. And, I get to see everyone again in January for the party. It'll be great.
We went back to our neighbors' house to get ready for dinner. We had a mini-reunion planned with the three families on our little street. As usual, the food was absolutely delicious - samosas, chicken curry, vegetable curry, rice, naan, and yule log. But, even more important than the food was the company. I really miss being in the Twin Cities when I think about all of the people I've grown to care about, and how little I get to see them. But, then I realize how much I love the mouse pad and the other people we get to see and I realize how fortunate I am. The whole crew is doing well minus a couple of people being in varying stages of cold recovery. One pair are grandparents now. And, another just bought a new computer. And, the girls are both growing older. You can see the transition from kids to preteens. It's scary how quickly time flies.
We all turned in early to let people catch up on sleep and recover from colds. Plus, the neighbors had a big soccer game Sunday morning and we had been up since 4 to catch our flight. Sunday morning, we had a chance to sit back and relax before we all headed out for the day. Mr. mouse and I picked up some pastries and headed out to St. Paul to see my middle school friend. I was a little scared. What if it was all awkward and we had nothing to say once we caught up? I can be such a goose. It turned out to be fabulous. They have the cutest little house in St. Paul and two darling children who, like everyone else's kids, want to put on a special show for guests. Mr. mouse really bonded with them, as he always does. And, I got time to catch up with my friend and her husband. She's had such a rich life with Peace Corps and working on environmental initiatives and everything. I feel a little lame in comparison. But, I console myself in the fact that I at least recognize the need for change and am doing little things towards making the world a better place. Plus, in ten years, if all goes right, I'll have the flexibility to do something different work-wise, and that motivates me. It was so good to see her. And, we'll have to catch up more the next time we're there or she's out here.
And, from there, Mr. mouse and I headed out to Punch for some delicious pizza. I put a quarter of the pie in the box to prevent temptation from turning into bad pizza move II for the week. It was just the right amount. I love their pizza, I really do. And, we hit the mall real quick to look for turtlenecks. My dry cleaner gave us a gift card, which we originally gave her, and we needed to spend it while in the Twin Cities. I got three wonderfully warm turtlenecks and had $27.53 left over that I used towards my mom's Christmas present. End of month accounting will be a little tricky, but I'll manage.
We got back to the house, watched some football, candled my ears, and ate sushi take-out for dinner. Then, we lazed on the couch watching FoodTV (cable is such a treat) until Mr. mouse checked up on flights. Turns out flights were looking dicey Monday morning due to weather over the weekend and a bunch of flight cancellations. Figuring better safe than sorry, we hauled @$$ to get to the airport for a late Sunday departure. Got home just before midnight, and here we are - 10 more work days left for 2007.
Cheers!
mouse
PS: Just curious what a year ago today was like... Here's my post from 12/10/06. Wow, what a difference a year can make. Good for us!
What a wonderful feeling! With our travels this year, we've been able to see a ton of friends we hadn't seen in so long. I feel like the past two years, the weekends were about cleaning up/setting up the houses to be put on the market. And, this year, we were able to use the weekends to catch up on all of the different house visits that were way overdue. And, we saved the two best for last - seeing our Twin Cities brethren and going home for the holidays.
We originally had grandiose plans to fly out Friday night, but we both had too much to do work-wise and home-wise to pull that off. So, we stayed in Friday and finished up a bunch of stuff. Then, we headed out first thing Saturday for the airport. Picked up the rental car, and stopped by our old dry cleaners. It was so good to catch up with her. She and her husband are both doing great. They're almost like an aunt and uncle to me - always asking if we have a baby yet and offering to take us out to dinner. They want us to stay over the next time we're in the Twin Cities, which will be tough, since, honestly, there are so many places that make more sense. They're always so glad to see us. It was a great way to start off the trip.
From there we went to our neighbors' house to drop off our stuff. Mr. mouse dropped me off at Salut for lunch with my girlfriends and he went back to the house for some Guitar Hero action. At Salut, we decided to forgo the table they had set up for us and grabbed a table at the bar instead. It worked beautifully because people came and went throughout the day instead of everyone showing up at once. I got to see Trixie, friend, and G. Then, G had to go and Mr. mouse showed up. And, friend had to go and Kris showed up. And, when Kris had to go, Ms. Jordan and my Turkish friend showed up. So, it was a steady stream throughout the day. And, Trixie, the trooper, showed up first and stayed the whole time. I love her. Everyone seems to be doing well and, fortunately, no one's changed a ton from the last time I've seen them. I do need to schedule phone time with Trixie once her travel schedule calms down so that we can really catch up on stuff you can't really talk about in group talk. And, I get to see everyone again in January for the party. It'll be great.
We went back to our neighbors' house to get ready for dinner. We had a mini-reunion planned with the three families on our little street. As usual, the food was absolutely delicious - samosas, chicken curry, vegetable curry, rice, naan, and yule log. But, even more important than the food was the company. I really miss being in the Twin Cities when I think about all of the people I've grown to care about, and how little I get to see them. But, then I realize how much I love the mouse pad and the other people we get to see and I realize how fortunate I am. The whole crew is doing well minus a couple of people being in varying stages of cold recovery. One pair are grandparents now. And, another just bought a new computer. And, the girls are both growing older. You can see the transition from kids to preteens. It's scary how quickly time flies.
We all turned in early to let people catch up on sleep and recover from colds. Plus, the neighbors had a big soccer game Sunday morning and we had been up since 4 to catch our flight. Sunday morning, we had a chance to sit back and relax before we all headed out for the day. Mr. mouse and I picked up some pastries and headed out to St. Paul to see my middle school friend. I was a little scared. What if it was all awkward and we had nothing to say once we caught up? I can be such a goose. It turned out to be fabulous. They have the cutest little house in St. Paul and two darling children who, like everyone else's kids, want to put on a special show for guests. Mr. mouse really bonded with them, as he always does. And, I got time to catch up with my friend and her husband. She's had such a rich life with Peace Corps and working on environmental initiatives and everything. I feel a little lame in comparison. But, I console myself in the fact that I at least recognize the need for change and am doing little things towards making the world a better place. Plus, in ten years, if all goes right, I'll have the flexibility to do something different work-wise, and that motivates me. It was so good to see her. And, we'll have to catch up more the next time we're there or she's out here.
And, from there, Mr. mouse and I headed out to Punch for some delicious pizza. I put a quarter of the pie in the box to prevent temptation from turning into bad pizza move II for the week. It was just the right amount. I love their pizza, I really do. And, we hit the mall real quick to look for turtlenecks. My dry cleaner gave us a gift card, which we originally gave her, and we needed to spend it while in the Twin Cities. I got three wonderfully warm turtlenecks and had $27.53 left over that I used towards my mom's Christmas present. End of month accounting will be a little tricky, but I'll manage.
We got back to the house, watched some football, candled my ears, and ate sushi take-out for dinner. Then, we lazed on the couch watching FoodTV (cable is such a treat) until Mr. mouse checked up on flights. Turns out flights were looking dicey Monday morning due to weather over the weekend and a bunch of flight cancellations. Figuring better safe than sorry, we hauled @$$ to get to the airport for a late Sunday departure. Got home just before midnight, and here we are - 10 more work days left for 2007.
Cheers!
mouse
PS: Just curious what a year ago today was like... Here's my post from 12/10/06. Wow, what a difference a year can make. Good for us!
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2 comments:
so happy you came to visit! and yes, little phone chat anytime. i cxld my trip to boston so i'm here all week. talk soon. xoxoxo
Sara and Troy say: Lets do it again in January! The Mpls contingent will bring our livers please Phil. Trixie, we hope you will make your delicious Mojitos to fill in betweeen the hourly shots of Grey Gooose.
Till the next adventure, we'll keep tabs via phone and blog....
Troy
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