This Valentine is Entering a New Decade

Well, it's a snowy Valentine's day. No hearts or flowers, but I did get an early birthday present in the mail at my office. What a treat!

I had a blast at my annual shindig. Lots of drinkin' and dancin' and a good time had by all.

I look forward to a large group ski trip this weekend with folks coming from NYC to SF, I really appreciate the love. The best part is the chefs who have come out of the woodworks. We are having macadamia encrusted chicken one night and seafood gumbo the next, not to mention pancakes and snazzy desserts.

Ohhh -- I can't wait to hit the slopes after this big storm is over!

Sun and Sand but Few Pages

A week of sun and sand was refreshing and much needed, but I still did not manage to read just one book. I am not sure that I even read more than 4 chapters.

We're not talking tough reading, here, either. And, ahem, we're not talking about the book club book for next week which I have yet to start, or, um, even purchase. What happened? A few short years back -- in the 3rd grade -- I listed "reading" as my favorite hobby. Perhaps I was really just looking for brownie points, but you get the point here.

I went south. I went north. I saw my best friend from kindergarden. I saw my best friend from high school. I saw my best friend from band camp. Need I say more?

Fires and Skiis and Modern Dance

All three of these occupied my mind this past week.

On Thursday, a new ice skating rink opened. On Friday, a fire closed off most of the area surrounding the rink. Alas, I have turned my attention to skiing. Utah is a definite, Vermont a very likely, but I just cannot commit to the ski trip to VA. There's just something about it that doesn't feel right.

So, let's see. Dude, I've totally let the blog slide, but my interest in food and drinks has not. Still, I got to a few cultural events and parties this weekend.

On Friday night, I went to Pilobolus followed by a late-night outing to Petit Robert. Both were phenomenal, and the company was an added bonus. Saturday morning, I went to my first baby naming. It was long, but again accompanied by good company and good food. Saturday afternoon, Alison and Carrie and I went to the Holiday Market, which was a bit of a disappoinment after last year. I still walked away with good gifts.

Saturday evening, I walked away with a tool kit at the Yankee Swap. I was quite happy until the dance club later that evening took it from me on the condition that it might contain weapons.

Sunday morning, Gretch and I went to the Columbus Cafe. In the afternoon, Aquene and I had tea at Trident, and Sunday evening I went to Paul's "sketchy" show. That was a way to end the weekend!

Turkey Day

I have been off-line some of the time, but Blogger has been deficient more of the time.

Anyway, turkey day was fantastic. It started off strong at 9 a.m. with my completing the gobble gobble gobble in the rain with a good crew from college (Gretch, Sandy, Brad, Mere, Melissa, and Dave). My mom and I then made a 16 pound turkey. By Thursday night, 14 pounds remained. Today, there are less than 10 pounds of turkey left.

It's a good thing I'm going through that turkey quickly. This Wednesday's book club meeting may result in our choosing the Omnivore's Dilemma as our next read. This month, we read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I loved and recommend. At a minimum, the book makes you ask yourself, are those cute shoes really worth it?