Condensed Soup

In light of me not posting for several days....I am condensing my musings....

Christmas Eve
Sat at work and tried to keep the smiles coming to those crabby patients' and was lucky enough to sneak home a little early. Chris and my parents had prepared everything so there was really nothing for me to do when I got home....except EAT! The evening was a success and we are still enjoying leftovers ;)

Christmas Day
Chris and I woke up fairly early (scratch that.....I woke up fairly early) and talked my amazing husband into a quick 4 miler before we snuck out to see what Santa brought us. What a joy it is for me to share my running with him, there is really nothing cooler for me than sharing running. Although it was a cool morning we chatted about our Christmas Eve and contemplated the weather and hoped that Tommy and Lindsey would be able to make it through the storms up North.
We had hoped to drive up to Tahoe after our Christmas morning but received a call from the in-laws that the roads had not been plowed for 2 days and the snow was coming down. We had to scrap those plans and were lucky to still have a gathering to attend in EG.
By the way, I just have to commend Chris for really doing an awesome job on my gifts. Totally great choices and really some unexpected, but adored items.
We spent the day in EG and got to let Bella play with my cousin's Labrador puppies....and Bella spent lots of time helping GreatGrandma clean her plate!

"The Day After"
I had the nerve to put my long run in on the 26th, I did 9 miles and Chris suffered through it with me. It was bitter cold, but luckily I felt pretty good the whole time. We were still entertaining the idea of Tahoe, but again heard that chain requirements were low and traffic was slow going....a day trip would have been tough. We got to spend much of the day going through our gifts and also just relaxing. Since there was mail I also got notice that I could officially schedule my neurologic specialty exam...so that led to a fair amount of anxiety and worries about studying for the next few months. We also started to prepare for Tommy and Lindsey's arrival and watched the weather obsessively to see if they would make it out of Seattle.

Chris' Birthday!
I woke up before the birthday boy and decided to let him stay in the warm bed. I got out for a solid 6 miles, felt decent. Had set my mind on sneaking out to buy a coffee for the birthday boy and luckily was able to do so....with him still snoozing. I brought his gifts and coffee to him in bed and Bella and I did our best duet of "Happy Birthday" for him. I think I did good surprising him on his gifts! After that it was a mad dash to the airport as I really wanted to be there when T&L arrived. We were literally driving on I-5 when I saw the Alaska "Eskimo" peak through the clouds and I just knew it was them! Saw the plane touch down.....ran into the terminal and sadly was in the bathroom when they emerged....but Tommy snuck up on me and scared me in normal Tommy fashion :P It was nice to chat quickly and they all went off to EG to settle in....then up to our place for a holiday dinner, Christmas and of course the Cal football game.
All in all it was a fabulous day. I finally felt like Christmas was right and felt the warmth in my ♥ from years passed. A day to remember for sure.

Sunday Funday?
A welcome day....my one day off of running each week. Didn't quite sleep in, but certainly better than normal. Had a nice breakfast, took down most of Christmas decor and cleaned up to head down to EG for an open house at my parent's place for Tommy's visit. My good friend Kristi stopped by and I am SO excited to try the reed diffuser she got me! It is always nice to sneak in visits when we can ;) Had a nice day visiting with family and trying to soak up as much time with Bubba as possible. Of course, felt the "impending doom" about mid-way through the day and felt myself clam up a little. When I get like that....I just want the goodbyes to be over with. We took off from EG about 515 and I maintained my composure....until I got out of view of the house. Typical. Not sure why I always cry. I guess same reason I used to cry when I left EG for Oakland, it's never easy to leave the place that you have so many memories, where the feeling of happiness and ♥ is so strong. This time I'm not sure when I will see Bubba and Linds again. I am feeling the blues today as I did not take the day off....they are in EG until this afternoon....but in a way.....I can't stand the impending doom, so I guess it worked out that I can be busy today.
Chris is off to work 2 OT shifts the next two days, so the peanut will keep me distracted. Also, the studying should keep me busy as well. Let the games begin.

I am hoping to post some photos of gifts, some images I took the last few days......more updates to come for sure.....at least this condensed version explains why I haven't been posting!

Hope everyone had fantastic holidays! Cheers for a great last week of 2008!