I still haven't finished going through all my pictures from Spain, but I will try to blog about the trip soon. In the meantime, I figured I'd do a regular weekly post. Our first full day back was Wednesday the 18th. I was pretty exhausted, and I don't think I ever left the house. I spent the day unpacking, doing laundry, catching up on mail and e-mails, etc. Tomkin had lunch with his folks, and we just spent a quiet evening at home. (I had lots of TiVo to catch up on as well!)
Thursday we cleaned the house, and I ran some errands and went grocery shopping. That night we had our monthly Third Thursdays party, and this time the featured drink was sangria. We had a great night, although I now realize that throwing a party two days after returning from a trip abroad was a bit ambitious. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun.
Although our Spanish ham had been confiscated at the airport (turns out you can't bring any fruits, vegetables, or meat into the USA), we had some other foods from Spain (including cookies we bought at a convent, ham-flavored Cheetos, and bacon-infused crackers--those Spaniards love their pork!).
One of the big attractions of the night were the Spanish tabloid magazines I brought home. There's one magazine called
Cuore, and they did a
special "AARG" issue in which they pointed out every conceivable flaw in celebrities (sweaty armpits, double chins, razor burn, fat rolls, etc.). It was both horrible and wonderful at the same time. I was delightfully surprised that my friend Helena made it to the party, since she was leaving for a trip to India two days later. And we learned that Cassidy and Angie are expecting a baby! The whole evening was really fun. I love Third Thursdays!
On Friday, Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk, and that evening we had dinner at Kris and Dave's. (Chloe came along for that, too.) Dave's daughters were there, and we all ordered pizza and hung out. Unfortunately, my jet lag really caught up with me, so we headed home early and went to bed at 9:30! Since we'd gotten back from Spain, I had been waking up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning (sometimes getting back to sleep, sometimes not), but that night I slept for 12 solid hours. I really needed it!
Saturday we exercised to "Project Runway," and I worked on my Oscar predictions chart. I know this is totally geeky, but it actually worked (and I had a lot of fun researching it). I made an Excel chart of all the nominees, and then I created columns for the Golden Globes, the guild awards, the BAFTAS, and various critics and predictors. There were some definite patterns (as much as I was rooting for Mickey Rourke, most of the check marks were in the "Sean Penn" column), so I based my predictions on those. That evening Tomkin and I stayed in and watched "Slumdog Millionaire" (which wasn't at all what I had expected--it's definitely not a "feel-good movie) and an episode of "Superstars of Dance."
Sunday we went for a walk with Chloe, and I broke my "no plans on the Sabbath" rule to go to a neighbor's birthday party. Though we actually couldn't stay long because we had an Oscar party to attend. (Oscars also trump Sabbath, apparently.) We met up with our friends Mandy and Peter and hung out at Peter's house for a bit. Then we all drove to Mandy's friend's house in Apple Valley for their annual Oscar party. There were lots of people (and lots of delicious food), and we had a great time watching the show. And Tomkin and I got 20 out of 24 of the categories right, so the predictions chart paid off!
Monday morning we were back to work. I met with a couple for premarital counseling, and Tomkin went into the office. I went grocery shopping and watched some Oscar coverage. That evening I met with another couple for counseling, and Tomkin had a meeting with a couple as well. We got some sad news that one of our neighbors had to put her dog to sleep. Another neighbor just had to do that, too, while we were in Spain. (And a friend from Chicago lost her dog recently as well.) I always feel so bad when someone loses a beloved pet--it's such a hard thing to go through. My heart really goes out to them all.
Other than Friday night, I still hadn't been sleeping well since we got back. So Monday night I took some nighttime cold medicine before I went to bed. On the one hand it was good, because I slept straight through the night. On the other hand it was bad, because I was groggy most of the day on Tuesday. I really felt like a zombie! Tomkin and I exercised to "Project Runway," and I tried to catch up with some editing contacts. I also found out that my friend Heidi from Chicago is going to come visit in April (yay!), and Tomkin and I booked a weekend at the Archer House in Northfield for our first anniversary weekend. Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk (it was so nice out, the snow was melting!), and after that I finally felt awake.
We went to the Guthrie to see "
A Delicate Balance" by
Edward Albee, who also wrote "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" It was my least favorite show I've seen at the Guthrie so far, but Tomkin loved it. Even though I didn't really enjoy it, it did provoke a lot of interesting discussion. After the show, we went to Pizza Luce. It was Fat Tuesday, and I wanted to squeeze in one last slice of pizza before Lent started. (I'm giving up pizza and chocolate, as I do every year.) Plus, it's always just fun to be out and about with my fabulous, fascinating husband!
Today we got off to an early start and had a productive morning. Tomkin worked on our taxes and had a phone meeting, and I got a bunch of stuff done around the house. We went to Tomkin's parents' house for lunch--it was great to see them again and catch up. Then we went shopping at Trader Joe's. I had 7 or 8 items on the shopping list, yet somehow we ended up with a trunk full of groceries and liquor. (The Trader Joe's in St. Paul is scheduled to open in June--I can't wait!)
We also stopped at the library before heading home. It was another gorgeous sunny day, so we took Chloe for a long walk. Then tonight I talked to my mom, and Tomkin went to a movie with his friend Charles. I finally feel like we're starting to settle back in again, which is a good thing. And hopefully my jet lag is just about gone....
Thursday we cleaned the house, and I ran some errands and went grocery shopping. That night we had our monthly Third Thursdays party, and this time the featured drink was sangria. We had a great night, although I now realize that throwing a party two days after returning from a trip abroad was a bit ambitious. Nonetheless, we had a lot of fun. 
Although our Spanish ham had been confiscated at the airport (turns out you can't bring any fruits, vegetables, or meat into the USA), we had some other foods from Spain (including cookies we bought at a convent, ham-flavored Cheetos, and bacon-infused crackers--those Spaniards love their pork!).
One of the big attractions of the night were the Spanish tabloid magazines I brought home. There's one magazine called Cuore, and they did a special "AARG" issue in which they pointed out every conceivable flaw in celebrities (sweaty armpits, double chins, razor burn, fat rolls, etc.). It was both horrible and wonderful at the same time. I was delightfully surprised that my friend Helena made it to the party, since she was leaving for a trip to India two days later. And we learned that Cassidy and Angie are expecting a baby! The whole evening was really fun. I love Third Thursdays!
On Friday, Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk, and that evening we had dinner at Kris and Dave's. (Chloe came along for that, too.) Dave's daughters were there, and we all ordered pizza and hung out. Unfortunately, my jet lag really caught up with me, so we headed home early and went to bed at 9:30! Since we'd gotten back from Spain, I had been waking up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning (sometimes getting back to sleep, sometimes not), but that night I slept for 12 solid hours. I really needed it!
Saturday we exercised to "Project Runway," and I worked on my Oscar predictions chart. I know this is totally geeky, but it actually worked (and I had a lot of fun researching it). I made an Excel chart of all the nominees, and then I created columns for the Golden Globes, the guild awards, the BAFTAS, and various critics and predictors. There were some definite patterns (as much as I was rooting for Mickey Rourke, most of the check marks were in the "Sean Penn" column), so I based my predictions on those. That evening Tomkin and I stayed in and watched "Slumdog Millionaire" (which wasn't at all what I had expected--it's definitely not a "feel-good movie) and an episode of "Superstars of Dance."
Sunday we went for a walk with Chloe, and I broke my "no plans on the Sabbath" rule to go to a neighbor's birthday party. Though we actually couldn't stay long because we had an Oscar party to attend. (Oscars also trump Sabbath, apparently.) We met up with our friends Mandy and Peter and hung out at Peter's house for a bit. Then we all drove to Mandy's friend's house in Apple Valley for their annual Oscar party. There were lots of people (and lots of delicious food), and we had a great time watching the show. And Tomkin and I got 20 out of 24 of the categories right, so the predictions chart paid off!
Monday morning we were back to work. I met with a couple for premarital counseling, and Tomkin went into the office. I went grocery shopping and watched some Oscar coverage. That evening I met with another couple for counseling, and Tomkin had a meeting with a couple as well. We got some sad news that one of our neighbors had to put her dog to sleep. Another neighbor just had to do that, too, while we were in Spain. (And a friend from Chicago lost her dog recently as well.) I always feel so bad when someone loses a beloved pet--it's such a hard thing to go through. My heart really goes out to them all.
Other than Friday night, I still hadn't been sleeping well since we got back. So Monday night I took some nighttime cold medicine before I went to bed. On the one hand it was good, because I slept straight through the night. On the other hand it was bad, because I was groggy most of the day on Tuesday. I really felt like a zombie! Tomkin and I exercised to "Project Runway," and I tried to catch up with some editing contacts. I also found out that my friend Heidi from Chicago is going to come visit in April (yay!), and Tomkin and I booked a weekend at the Archer House in Northfield for our first anniversary weekend. Tomkin and I took Chloe for a walk (it was so nice out, the snow was melting!), and after that I finally felt awake. 
We went to the Guthrie to see "A Delicate Balance" by Edward Albee, who also wrote "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" It was my least favorite show I've seen at the Guthrie so far, but Tomkin loved it. Even though I didn't really enjoy it, it did provoke a lot of interesting discussion. After the show, we went to Pizza Luce. It was Fat Tuesday, and I wanted to squeeze in one last slice of pizza before Lent started. (I'm giving up pizza and chocolate, as I do every year.) Plus, it's always just fun to be out and about with my fabulous, fascinating husband!
Today we got off to an early start and had a productive morning. Tomkin worked on our taxes and had a phone meeting, and I got a bunch of stuff done around the house. We went to Tomkin's parents' house for lunch--it was great to see them again and catch up. Then we went shopping at Trader Joe's. I had 7 or 8 items on the shopping list, yet somehow we ended up with a trunk full of groceries and liquor. (The Trader Joe's in St. Paul is scheduled to open in June--I can't wait!) 
We also stopped at the library before heading home. It was another gorgeous sunny day, so we took Chloe for a long walk. Then tonight I talked to my mom, and Tomkin went to a movie with his friend Charles. I finally feel like we're starting to settle back in again, which is a good thing. And hopefully my jet lag is just about gone....
2 comments:
Jet lag sucks!!! I'm happy to hear that you're back stateside and jumped right back into the swing of things. I'm just finishing up everything here. I'll have plenty of time to talk while driving for hours. I'll give you a call one of those days. I miss you!!
Man, you guys just NEVER slow down. Glad to have you back safe and sound and look forward to hearing about your trip from you and Tomkin. Not sure I can wade through 1700 photos, that's ALOT! :)
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