My Life, As Told Between (Baby Cakes') Naps

Happy (belated) Lunar New Year! Growing up, we always tried to clean house before the lunar new year, so we’d be able to welcome the new year in on a good note. I was really hoping to do the same this year, but T and I fell a little behind and didn’t get around to cleaning our place until this weekend (new year was Thursday, February 7th).

I guess the good news is that we did it at all since we were originally scheduled to go to Fresno this weekend. However, our plans changed at the last minute and we found ourselves with an entirely free weekend in LA. . . so we impetuously decided to thrown an impromptu dinner party! T and I scrubbed the place clean Saturday morning and had a random assortment of friends over for dinner Saturday night, including my running buddy G, his wife and their adorable seven month old daughter.* T grilled up steaks and corn on the cob, while I sautéed mushrooms, put together a salad and oversaw the baked potatos. People brought over yummy desserts (sabatoging my three day old effort to give up chocolate in support of T’s giving up soda and dessert for Lent), which we munched on while playing Apples to Apples, the best game ever, and generally catching up. It was a terrific get-together and I’m so glad it came together as well as it did at the last minute!

*My apologies if you weren’t invited. It was mostly my running buddies – whom I’d gone running with that morning – and people who happened to call us that day. It reminded me of how much we enjoy having people over though. Hopefully, we’ll be motivated to do it more often!

Survived my 22 mile run on Saturday, with energy left over to meet up for lunch and a movie with my friend L. I’d originally intended to go into the office to catch up on some work this weekend, since T had to work both days, but ended up getting distracted by fun things and domesticy things the entire weekend.

L and I had lunch at the Curry House and headed to Pinkberry for dessert, where we were pleasantly surprised to run into our friend, J, and her boyfriend. J, L and I had all trained for the LA Marathon together last year but they’ve since taken a break due to various running injuries.*

After Pinkberry, L and I went to see The Waterhorse, which was cute and a little touching. So bascially about what I had expected.** I was lured in because of the sheer cuteness of the titular Waterhorse and he lived up to expectations. We were the only ones there above 10 and/or without a 10 year old in tow however.

Sunday I used up my quota of domesticity for the year. I went grocery shopping, did laundry, took out the trash, dusted, ironed, organized, and cooked (a decent!) dinner using one of the great cookbooks we got for Christmas! Whew. Tired just thinking about it.

*Actually, I’m thinking of taking a break from marathons after this next one and sticking with half-marathons for awhile. They cause much less wear and tear on your body. I’ve also recently signed up for Pilates classes, which will hopefully help balance out all the running. I love Pilates and am excited the studio next to our place finally opened. I had my first class today and although it was painful getting up at 5:40am, the class was fun and passed by quickly.

**Added bonus – the fancy theater showing The Waterhorse sold Tim Tams at the consession stand! I’m ashamed to say it, but as beautiful as Australia is and as much as I enjoyed various aspects of it during my visit, Tim Tams may be what I miss most.

I bought my wedding dress this weekend!! After unanimous approval from both the Girlfriends and the Sisters, and a little whimpering over the price, I handed over my credit card (which was emitting its own pathetic whimpers). I love, love, love the dress though and can’t wait to wear it! Oh, and to get married and all that of course. =)

My weekend got off to a nice start Friday night, when we had dinner at C&O with a couple of T’s friends. Unfortunately, we had to call it an early night because I had to get up at 5:oo a.m. for a 20 mile run the next morning. The run, my first 20 mile run since the Marathon in March, was great! Aside from a brief moment at mile 15 when I wondered if I could go on, the run was fun and fairly relaxed.

T and I spent most of Saturday cleaning house and preparing for the dinner party we were hosting for some of my friends who were visiting from out of town. Dinner (aka take out pizza and snacks) was fun, although we bailed on going out afterwards in favor of watching Battlestar Galactica Razor and going to sleep early. Because that’s how we roll.

Fortunately, I got in a lot more together time with them on Sunday, when they came over for brunch, wedding dress shopping, and cupcakes. After they left, T and his brother dragged me to do more manly things – like watching I Am Legend. Which I actually only saw 1/3rd of as my eyes were firmly shut for 2/3rds of the movie. Either because I was scared, anticipated being scared, or was recovering from a scare.

Remember me? I don’t know if you’re still out there, but I use to post on this Blog occastionally. I realize it’s been even more sparse than usual lately. Work’s been really busy and with the holidays and wedding planning (by which I mostly mean looking at pictures of stuff online and in magazines) and updating MySpace, Facebook, Friendster and my wedding site, this Blog’s been a little neglected. Sorry about that. I can’t promise that’s going to change any time soon, but you know you can always email or call me right? Cause I’m just saying, I’ve noticed a lack of such emails and calls recently. I know, I know, I haven’t been particularly good at instigating those either. However, T and I did order our cheesy Christmas cards recently so you can expect those in the mail sometime. . . hopefully before next Christmas.

So yes, all is good. We’ve been filling our days with lots of friends, family and food. We’re heading up to northern California today for a belated Thanksgiving dinner with my family, which I’m really excited about. I’ll also get to see some friends I haven’t seen in forever. My sisters are coming to town the following weekend to help me try on wedding dresses. Then one of my best friends, the Frog, is back in California for the holidays, so I’m looking forward to seeing her.  Hope your holidays are all going well too and would love to hear from you! =)

I hope you all are able to make it home to celebrate Thanksgiving with your families. This year will be the second year I’m doing a belated Thanksgiving (we were on our cruise to the Caribbeans last year). T unfortunately has to work Thursday so we’re going home to visit my family the following weekend. Since my family is small and everyone but me lives in San Jose anyways, they’re postponing Thanksgiving dinner until December 1st. Yay for great families!

Speaking of great families, T and I went with his mother and brother to Disneyland to celebrate Birthday Month (all three of them have birthdays this month). I had a blast, even when forced to endure scary rollcoaster rides like Space Mountain. We got to the park at 10am and stayed until midnight, going on what must have been every single ride in both Disneyland and California Adventure.

Unfortunately, my body chose to remind me the next day that I’m getting older and thus can no longer be physically active for that long a stretch without some repercussions. Exhausted, I slept through my alarm and completely missed up meeting with my friends for the run that I had organized, then just layed around and did nothing the rest of the day, periodically taking a nap to escape the exhausting laying around. Three days later, I feel like I’m just barely getting my energy back. . .

Anyways, happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Halloween all! Hope everyone’s enjoying their week! We’ve been super busy lately, but mostly with fun things. Friday night, we had dinner with a couple of T’s friends who were staying with us as they had a wedding in LA that weekend.

Saturday morning I did an 11 mile run by myself because I woke up too late to join my running group. Saturday night we went out with KA and some other friends in Hermosa, which was a blast. The girls dressed up as sailors and T came as a low-budget pirate (because the Halloween stores were ransacked we only managed to buy the pirate accessories but not the actual costume, so he wore jeans and a white t-shirt).

Sunday I went wedding dress shopping with some friends, which wasn’t nearly as horrible as I was anticipating, but a lot more involved than I thought. I even found some dresses I liked. Afterwards, T and I went to a pumpkin carving dinner party. But being the old fogies we are, by the time the dinner portion of the evening was over, it was so late we were too tired to do any carving. Fortunately, most of the other guests felt the same way so our hosts kindly gave us all cute little pumpkins and a carving set to go. T and I carved ours last night (well, T carved while I hurriedly threw together dinner since it was getting really late):

Went to the UCLA game Saturday with a bunch of T’s college friends who were visting from out of town. I’m not much of one for football – I brought a book, which I finished during the game – but it was a beautiful day and I had a great time just hanging out. I even hear we (UCLA) won. =) Afterwards, we ate at Hurry Curry, which was super yummy!

T and I tested our hosting skills by having everyone over at our place for most of the weekend. Lack of seating aside, I think it went pretty smoothly. We even managed, with the much appreciated help of a couple of his friends, to prepare breakfast for eight on Sunday morning!

Between the game and the race in Santa Monica taking over my usual running route, I didn’t make it for my long run this weekend and instead settled for doing 4.5 miles at the gym Sunday morning, which did not put a dent in the massive amount of food I’d consumed over the weekend. Fortunately, after breakfast, and some more football watching, we went biking. It was the first time we’d gone biking since we’d moved. The bike path and beach were relatively empty and the weather was perfect. It was the great way to end the weekend.

• Went on a great 11 mile run with my friend the Teacher this past weekend!
• Visited a beautiful possible wedding location both T and I loved. It’s a scenic ranch in the Malibu mountains. We’re looking at August ’08 and are leaning heavily towards a Friday wedding, since it’s so much cheaper, but we’re worried about the inconvenience to the guests. Wedding planning is hard. I’ll feel so much better once we book the venue.
• Bought some fantastic hand soap from Target this weekend. I’d been wanting to try it ever since I read about it. I bought all three scents available and the first one I used (Almond Flower) smells great. The soap container feels nice, looks beautiful and is biodegradable. The soap lathers wonderfully, is creamy without leaving a film and isn’t antibacterial! Yay for Method hand soap! =)
• Finally got an overhead light up in our bedroom without too much hassle. We’re slowly but surely getting our condo in order.
• Saw a beautiful bridemaid dress in one of the sample wedding albums we viewed. I’m now on a hunt to find out the dress’s designer and exact color. Unfortunately, googling “grayish blue bridesmaid dresses” hasn’t proven particularly useful, although it has exhausted my investigative arsenal.
• Hung out with T’s friends visiting from New York and their adorable 1.5 year old son who will hopefully be our ring-bearer. =)

I know, I know, it’s been too long since the last post. I’ve just been super busy lately. My parents and one of my younger sisters visited over Labor Day weekend, and while I adore them, entertaining them was exhausting. My parents in particular always claim they’re easy going and don’t need to be entertained, but they also can’t sit still in one place for very long without getting antsy and feeling unproductive. As a result, T and I spent much of the weekend driving them around greater LA, on one of the hottest weekends of the year, as they went on a quest to help us furnish our new condo (which, admittedly was a very sweet quest). Poor T had to deal with four back seat drivers as opposed to his usual one (me) – everyone in my family hates to drive, but unforunately we all have opinions on how it should be done!

Since the Great Labor Day Quest resulted in, among other things, the successful purchase of a grill, we decided to host an impromptu BBQ on Labor Day. I think it turned out really well, thanks to our wonderful friends who brought over their Nintendo Wii’s, drinks, sides, and, of course, their wonderful selves! 🙂

Last weekend was the first weekend we had to just sit around and relax in ages. So of course it was the first weekend I had to work since coming to my new firm. Nevertheless, we squeezed in a quick run to Ikea to buy this shelf I’ve been wanting:

We somehow miraculously managed to get it back to our place in my little Honda Civic and T surprised me by assembling it while I was at work! It looks great up in our den and I can’t wait to get the rest of the pieces we need for the room. . . and get rid of some old pieces. We’re also planning to pick up T’s grandmother’s dining room table set, which is currently in storage in Portland. And I’d really like to paint some accent walls eventually. In the meantime, I have a friend visiting from out of town this weekend and we’re hoping to scout out some possible wedding locations next weekend. Stay tuned for more exciting updates of the days of my life. 🙂

So I turned 29 on Tuesday. All in all, it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as I had feared. Being a workday, I didn’t have any special plans, but T surprised me by taking the night off work and having a lovely bath drawn and dinner planned when I got home.

Our condo purchase is moving along, and while it’s all gone fairly smoothly, I find the entire process nervewracking. So much money! And what if something happens and escrow doesn’t close as planned? Ack! We’ve already submitted our intent to vacate our apartment! We could be homeless!!

Poor T is discovering the hard way that I don’t deal well with uncertainties. I had a slight meltdown this past weekend when our mortgage broker called and asked us to submit additional documents, which I couldn’t do right away because we were out and about. Fortunately, T talked me down from the ledge and made me realize I was being anxious just for the sake of being anxious. (Personally, I think it’s the job. I remember once being a rather cool and collected individual. Although my closest family and friends tell me that perception was more self-delusional than accurate and that I’ve always been somewhat spastic.)

Heading to Portland this weekend for a get together with some of my girl friends from law school and to celebrate another one of us (this time Roomie) turning 30. We had our first reunion a couple of years ago when C. turned 30 and we all realized our 30th birthdays were spread far enough apart that we could get together every few years to celebrate and support each other as we entered our thirties.

Whew, back from northern California. Had a terrific time catching up with my friends and family this weekend. I didn’t find out until Thursday whether I would make it this weekend and had to scrambled to finish some things on Friday before rushing to meet with the agent to sign our purchase agreement (!). We then speed over to the airport to catch our flight and rushed to our hotel to change and make it to dinner. Was nearly brought to tears by the lack of available taxi cabs in SF on a Friday evening and ended up being an hour late to dinner at Ti Couz — the dinner I had planned. Fortuntely, once I arrived and had some food, and drinks, in me the night started picking up. After dinner we went to one of my best friend’s 30th birthday party, which was a terrific chance to see friends I haven’t seen in too long and catch up with friends of friends I hadn’t seen in even longer.

T and I spent Saturday morning exploring the streets and hills in SF. We walked through Chinatown (somehow accidently having lunch at the one restaurant in Chinatown that didn’t appear to have any Chinese diners) to Coit Tower and finished at Fisherman’s Wharf before heading back to meet up with some friends for dinner and a movie (Shrek, it was cute).

Rented a car Sunday and drove home to spend the day with my family, who appeared more excited to have T there than me. My mom prepared an elaborate Vietnamese meal so we all gorged ourselves, then spent the rest of the day sitting around, talking and reliving the wonders of the meal.

We started off the weekend Friday night having dinner with T’s mom, who was here on a four hour layover on her way to Costa Rica, and brother at a cute little restaurant suggested by a friend of mine.

Got up early Saturday morning for my first long run (14 miles) since the marathon three weeks earlier. It was great to be back out there running. Got to know some fellow runners that I’d seen but had not really had the chance to talk to, caught up with an old friend who’s been out for the last ten weeks due to a running injury, and received a compliment from a fellow runner who’s been out of the country the last five months. She thought I’d lost weight since the last time she’d seen me! (This, of course, totally gave me license to pig out the rest of the weekend.) Oh, and the actual run was nice too.

After the run, I dragged T out of bed and we had a wonderful brunch at a local restaurant. Feeling sufficiently stuffed, we headed out to the beach to meet up with my little sister L, who had announced the day before that she was in town with nine of her best girl friends. After ten minutes with a gang of giggling girls, T and I had to call it quits and headed out to do some bike shopping. Two test rides later, we found the bikes for us. My key criteria in bike shopping was finding one that I would be able to stay on. Fortunately, although wobbly, I managed to stay upright despite it being decades (literally – more than one decade!) since I’d last ridden.*

(Isn’t she a cutie? She’s little, but powerful. I’m going to give her a big, intimidating name, to make up for her diminuative size.)

Saturday night was spent at the Frog’s surprise going away party. I think we did a pretty good job gathering together lots of the Frog’s closest friends and family members for a big bash. (We love you Frog and will miss you horribly!) Surprised even myself by staying at the party until 2am. Didn’t get to sleep until 4am (due to some time collecting and ensuring that our drunken friends were all okay and could safely get home). =)

Sunday started off with another brunch, this time featuring the Frog, the Wombat, Savor, and KM (who is sadly blogless). Got back just in time to meet the realtor for some condo-shopping. Saw one that was almost perfect, but it’ll probably be off the market by the time we’re actually ready to buy (July). It gives us hope that we’ll find something we both really like come July though.

Finished condo-shopping just in time to rush back to the bike shop before it closed to pick up the two bikes we fell in love with on Saturday (but were unable to pick up because we had to hurry home to catch the UCLA game).

Collapsed, exhausted in our bed early Sunday night.

*Note: I did a little bit of bike riding in Santa Barbara with my Quad friends, but I was the caboose on a tandem bike, which totally doesn’t count.

I miss my old co-workers, J and A, who became very good friends in the two years I was working at my old firm.

Today, someone brought in a box of chocolates to share with the office. The chocolates are sitting at the receptionist’s desk, tempting me. I’ve already swung by to grab a few pieces but that merely fed the craving for more. Sadly, the receptionist’s desk is waaaaaaaaay on the other side of the office from me and I can’t think of any excuse to wander over to that side of the office and surreptitiously steal some.

If J or A were here, I’d send them out to get some for me.

(And if you have to ask why I don’t just got get some more myself, you wouldn’t understand the answer.)

Back from a fabulous weekend with my Quad friends. We started the weekend with wine, gossip and cheesy picture taking on Friday night. Very relaxed night of hanging out and catching up in our adorable beachside cottage rental.

On Saturday, we took some picture and then walked to the beach and rented tandem bikes. Biked just long enough to get some (more) good pictures. During our bike ride, we stopped to on the beach for a bit to take incredibly cheesy, embarassing-to-think-about pictures. Although I groaned at the time and feigned disinterest, I’m (secretly) glad we took them. =) I just can’t stop looking at them and smiling.

After the bike ride, the picture taking, lunch, and more picture taking, we drove to some local wineries to do some wine tasting. Drank wine, took pictures, had an impromptu picnic at one of the wineries, took pictures, and then headed to Solvang, a cute little Danish town nearby, where we (surprise!) took more pictures and drank more wine.

Headed back early enough for a quick nap before heading out to dinner. Sadly, due to my poor planning and the surprisingly cold weather, I was forced to wear a hideous jean on jean outfit that earned me the moniker “Tex” (as in “Texas tuxedo,” a term I made the mistake of sharing with my friends).

Fortunately for me, we ended the night early, as none of us felt like squeezing into an Irish bar with tons of drunk college students (and I especially did not want to be spotted in my Texas tuxedo). Plus, we had to wake up early the next morning to take more pictures before heading home! All in all, it was lovely to catch up with my girls and I’m looking forward to our next annual Quad Reunion trip. =)

Sadly, these days, I’m finding it all too easy to go too long without seeing some of my best friends. We all get caught up in the day to day routines of our lives. I see some friends frequently because they’re part of that routine – my work friends, my running friends, my dinner party friends, my going out friends, etc. But I see other friends very seldomly, either because they’re too far away or, sadder still, they’re very close but we’re not a part of each other’s routines anymore.

One of my best (Quad) friends actually lives in LA, but somehow we’ve both fashioned lives for ourselves that don’t really include each other. I know she’s always there for me and I’m there for her, but the only time we really spend any time together is during Quad reunions – one of which is coming up this weekend! We’re taking a break from our routines and heading out to a beach-side cottage in Santa Barbara for our third annual Quad Reunion. (We went to Vegas two years ago and Tahoe last year.)

I hope we manage to take a trip together every year, regardless of what life brings us. It’s all too easy to take friends for granted and assume they’ll be there when you need them. I’m trying to remember how important it is to nurture these friendships in the in-between time. That gets even harder when one gets into a relationship, as the Frog very eloquently pointed out. (Speaking of which, T.’s sulking a bit because this SB trip was originally supposed to be a couples event, but we changed it recently and disinvited the boys.)  I’m very fortunate to know so many stellar women (and a few stellar men) and I never want to get so wrapped up in my life and my routines that these friendships fall entirely to the wayside.

To my (three) friends who read this blog: I may not always need you but you are always always wanted!

Found out yesterday that a good friend of mine from law school recently moved from NY to Virginia.  Another good friend recently moved from DC to SF.  It looks like the Frog is going to the East coast this summer and Roomie is moving to Berkeley this fall.  I however am staying put for awhile.  After all, I really can’t change jobs again any time soon.  Three different firms in my first two years of practice probably looks suspicious enough! 

Funny, after I graduated from UCLA in 2000, LA was the last place I thought I’d find myself living.  Yet, six and a half years later, here I am.  And it looks like I may be here to stay, for awhile at least.  I used to make fun of one of my best friends from high school for never quite managing to leave LA despite a professed desire to do so after graduating from UCLA.  I never thought I’d BE her!

Anyways, things are good.  Not much new to report.  Having some friends over for the Superbowl this Sunday.  Not that I really watch football, but I do enjoy eating and socializing and this is as good an excuse as any.  I haven’t decided which team to root for, but I’m leaning towards the Colts… 

T and I are celebrating our one year anniversary next weekend.  We’re going to see Wicked.  With his brother.  And his mom.  Yes, after insisting we do something to celebrate the occasion (I don’t really do celebrations, so this was totally T’s call), T promptly forgets the actual date of the anniversary (despite my lack of desire to celebrate said event, I am still a girl and therefore knew the exact date) and invites his mom and brother to see Wicked that night when he was offered some tickets.  Boys.  I guess I should just be thankful I was invited as well!  =)

Oh – one last complaint – I woke up this morning feeling fatter than I’ve felt in ages!  Maybe it’s because I’ve missed the last two long runs (an 18 miler and 12 miler) due to illness and being out of town.  Maybe it’s the entire box of See’s candy I consumed this past weekend.  Maybe it’s the fact that the heater has caused all my clothes to shrink (a possibility suggested by a friend of mine).  Whatever it is, it has to stop.  As of today, I vow never to eat an entire one pound box of See’s candy in a weekend again!

Been feeling blah all week.  Partly because it’s abnormally cold here right now (seriously, how in the world did I survive three years in Boston?), partly because I’ve actually caught a cold (T has taken to calling me the Germinator), and partly because work’s been really busy (ack). 

To make myself feel better, I caved and bought this dress (in blue) during my lunch break today.  It’s amazing what a new outfit can do for your mood!   

For those interested, I had a nice, relaxing three-day break this past weekend. 

On Friday, I left work early so I could make it to downtown LA for a friend’s birthday party.  It was a fun, casual get together at an Irish pub, topped off by the most amazing banana cream cheesecake ever, made by the birthday girl herself.   

Motivated by the aforementioned amazing cake, I dragged myself out of bed at 6am on Saturday morning to do a 12 mile run with my running group.  It was one of the most miserable runs I’ve been on, mostly because I was freezing cold the entire time, despite my long pants, long sleeves, gloves and hood.  Also, my new waterbelt was chaffing the small of my back.  Oh, and because my contact lenses have been bothering me lately, I wasn’t wearing them and consequently couldn’t see anything.  Woe is me.  Fortunately, I survived (barely).  Spent the rest of the day recovering and preparing for a small dinner party we were throwing later that night.  And by “preparing” and “throwing,” I mean “not really doing anything” since my wonderful little sister B did all the cooking (panini’s, spinach and artichoke dip, and tiramisu).  

I was sinfully lazy on Sunday and did absolutely nothing, unless you count watching Battlestar Galactica all day as something. 

Monday found me slightly more productive.  Tried a new dim sum place with Roomie, T and T’s brother and then saw Pan’s Labyrinth (good, but definitely not my usual light-hearted fare).  Bemoaned having to go back to work the next day for the remainder of the night. 

I received many wonderful, thoughtful Christmas gifts this year.  Among my favorites was TomTom, a portable GPS system.  It is the best thing ever (no offense to all non-TomTom type things).  

Those of you who know me, and who know my propensity for getting lost, know how absolutely perfect this gift is.  Especially if you’ve been subject to my periodic calls asking you to direct me from point A to point B.  Not that you are at either point A or point B.  You usually just happen to be the first person I was able to reach on that particular day. 

Now I have TomTom and no longer need friends and family.  TomTom always knows the way. TomTom always knows to remind me miles before I have to make a turn that I should change lanes.  TomTom memorizes all of my favorite addresses so I don’t have to.  TomTom never gets disoriented when I accidently ignore his advice and make a wrong turn.  TomTom is acceptance.  TomTom is love.  All embrace TomTom.

Happy New Years everyone!  May this year be full of love and happiness.

T and I were discussing our resolutions yesterday.  Mine was to exercise more, eat better and spend less.  His was to make sure I was happy.  Sigh.*

Anyways, T, Roomie and I had a small group of friends over for New Year’s.  Roomie’s holiday plans were unfortunately canceled at the last minute so she was forced to celebrate it with us.  It was supposed to be a casual gathering before we walked to a local bar, but Roomie believes in being a good hostess.  What had originated as a get together with some beer and pizza turned into a four course meal.  Roomie spent much of the weekend making dumplings, fudge and cookies – all from scratch.  I “made” lasagna (i.e., stirring what Roomie asked me to and sneaking off the minute Roomie looked away).  T and I bought an assortment of appetizers and sides and our friends brought a sea of beverages.  

We spent the night eating, drinking and playing board games with some of our best friends.  T and I had a slightly tense moment during Taboo – perhaps our second official “fight” of the year? – related to our competative natures (well, his more then mine!) but it quickly passed.  Taboo has always been one of my favorite games, but it may now have some competition.  A friend of T’s gave him what may be the best game of all time. 

We ventured out from the apartment around 10pm and rung in the New Year’s at a nearby bar.  It was exactly the environment I wanted, a low-key sparsely populated Irish pub full of friendly regulars and bar staff and surrounded by some of my favorite, funny people.  

*Note:  Sorry for the sap.  I couldn’t resist sharing.  =)

Back from my all too short trip home to SJ.  The office closed early on Friday so I was able to get home by 3:30.  Little Sis had come over earlier in the day and was hanging out with T.  We spent Friday night hanging out, wrapping presents, and not doing much of anything.  

Little Sis and I drove to SJ Saturday morning.  Arrived home around 3pm.  The Parents were glad to see us, although they persisted in asking why T didn’t come with us.  Apparently, the fact that he wanted to spend Christmas with his own family wasn’t good enough.  They reluctantly accepted that he wouldn’t be making a surprise visit – but only on the condition that he visit during Lunar New Year in February.  Presumably they want me there too.

Went for a 7 mile run Sunday morning.  I had meant to do 14 miles but slept in too late.  As is, I still scrambled afterwards to meet up with 3/4ths of the Quad for our annual Christmas gift exchange.  We had lunch at J’s beautiful townhouse (see picture below), decorated cookies, exchanged gifts and caught up on each other’s lives.  (T had noted that my gifts for my Quad friends seemed rather impersonal.  I pointed out that after some 15+ years of friendship and gift-giving, one runs out of personal gift ideas.) 

Did dinner at home with the family, including Little Sis and Littlest Sis’s boyfriends.  I think the Parents were thrilled that their nest was full again.  I should make it a point to visit more often.

Went for the remainder of my 14 mile run Monday morning, dodging ominous looking clouds and praying it wouldn’t rain all the while.  Realized again how great the weather was in LA.  Finished just in time to indulge in the feast Little Sis’s boyfriend prepared for the family (he’s studying to be a chef and the meal was his Christmas gift).  Left for LA Monday night full and happy.