Happy Holidays!

Hello, blog readers!
Sorry I've gotten so far behind since the trip to Hawaii. I have every intention of catching up after the holidays. A week after we got back from the Big Island, Tomkin and I traveled to Boston to see his friend Scotty (the head usher at our wedding) and meet Scotty's fiancee, Brenda (who is awesome!). We'll be heading out again for their wedding in May. We also got to see Tomkin's friend Jake (an usher at our wedding), and I got to meet Jake's wife and son (and see all the chickens they have running around their yard!). Two weeks later, I went to Chicago for the weekend. My primary reason for going was to co-host a bridal shower for my friend Lisa, who's getting married in Iowa in February. But I wanted to see my other Chicago friends, too, so instead of planning various lunches, dinners, coffees, etc., I decided to throw myself one last 40th birthday party (at In Fine Spirits) and have everyone gather together. That was so much fun! It was great to see so many friends again--and to hang out in Andersonville, my favorite Chicago neighborhood. The shower for Lisa was a lot of fun, too, and I'm looking forward to her wedding in just a couple months! Of course December has also been busy with Christmas shopping, parties (we just had Third Thursdays last night and served cosmos), oh--and I finished up another federal biodiesel grant and wrote a draft for an education grant! I confess that, rather than spending my recent downtime blogging, I've been watching reality TV--specifically "Dancing with the Stars," "The Amazing Race," and "So You Think You Can Dance," all of which are now done for the season. I'm heading to Texas on Sunday to see my mom--can't wait. Tomkin will be joining me later in the week. We fly back the day after Christmas and will be celebrating with his folks on the 27th and then getting together with my dad, Sandy, Phillip, and Alex in January. I hope that all of you are doing well and having a happy holiday season! Thank you so much for reading my blog!