Spring Awakenings

Last Monday was another in a string of cold days--too cold for a walk. Tomkin went into the office. I went to Target and then went home and worked on getting some stuff ready for Spain. That evening, Tomkin went to a neighborhood meeting, and I stayed home to watch TV, play on the computer, and work on my year-in-review blog post.
On Tuesday I went to my final Weight Watchers meeting. It had been about three weeks since I'd last gone, and I was very happy that in the interim I'd lost 1.2 pounds! That gave me a total WW loss of 16.2 pounds. I was very happy with that. After the meeting, I met up with Helena at Tea Source. (She's a friend from college who I'd lost touch with until just a couple weeks ago.) It was wonderful to reconnect with her and hear about the Center for Happiness, her upcoming trip to India, and all the other good things going on. She is a good-energy person, and I'm glad to have her in my life again. That night, Tomkin and I went to the Orpheum Theater for the opening night of "Spring Awakening." While we were hanging out in the lobby before the show, we ran into Heidi and her daughter, Hannah! This was Hannah's third time seeing it. I can definitely understand why it's such a hit with the younger crowd. I enjoyed it overall. Some of the music was amazing, and the cast was really impressive. But the story was pretty simplistic ("adults are bad; children are misunderstood") and quite dark. I've been hearing about this show for years, so I'm glad we finally got to see it. Also, this was my first time at the Orpheum, which is a beautiful theater!
We've been trying to get up earlier, in preparation for the time difference in Spain. Wednesday morning we got up and worked out to "Project Runway." I ran a bunch of errands, and Tomkin had lunch with his folks. It was finally nice enough that we could take Chloe for a walk, which felt fantastic for all of us. That evening Tomkin went to his weekly poker game, and I worked on my year-end blog post. (It took me a lot longer than I'd expected it to!)
When I woke up on Thursday, I felt like maybe I was getting a cold. Not good, since we're traveling soon.... Tomkin met with a couple and then went into the office. I finally finished my year-end blog post and started packing for Spain. That evening I had a premarital education session, and then I talked to Mom. By the end of the day, I could tell that I definitely had a cold. Ugh.
Friday morning my throat was sore, so I tried not to talk at all--even to whisper. It was hard, but it definitely helped. Tomkin had a business lunch, and I went shopping at Target. We had set aside some money for me to get new clothes when I hit my target weight. So on Friday we did some serious shopping! First we went to Stella Blu, a small shop on Grand. We had browsed in there before, and I've been dying to go back. They have really cool clothes that are reasonably priced. And a lot of their stuff was on sale! I ended up getting five dresses--one is a full-length formal gown, which I absolutely LOVE. I'm not sure when I'll wear it, but it was on clearance for $30, and it fit me like a glove, so I couldn't resist. I also got a bunch of jewelry and a few headbands. We came home for a short break, and then we headed to Macy's. Tomkin brought along a book and laid on a couch outside the fitting room while I scoured the store and tried out dozens of blouses, pants, dresses, skirts, etc. I ended up getting two pairs of jeans, two pairs of dress pants, a blazer, three sweaters, and six tops/blouses, all for $220! (I don't think I paid full price for anything, and some clothes were as much as 80% off!) Next we went to Ragstock, where Tomkin found a couple cool shirts, and I got five scarves for $10. So all together, all my purchases for the day came in under $500. And I have a nice new wardrobe! We were pretty much exhausted after our shopping marathon, so we went home, had a late dinner, and curled up on the couch to watch some "Superstars of Dance" with Chloe.
Saturday morning we worked out to "Project Runway," and then we had lunch with Mark at Pizza Luce. He had been in DC for the inauguration and had MCed a party there, so it was fun to hear about his hobnobbing and adventures. It was the first day of the year that the temperature was above freezing, so Tomkin and I seized the opportunity to take Chloe to a park. We went to a place called Crosby Farm, next to the Mississippi River, and let Chloe run around. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the snow was melting. Hallelujah! Unfortunately, I was feeling pretty worn out by this point, having pushed myself a little too hard for having a cold. So we went home and napped for about an hour, which felt heavenly. Then we went to dinner at the home of a couple, Raj and Sheri, who we met at Jim and Roxanne's Chinese New Year party. (Jim and Roxanne were at dinner, too.) They served Spanish wines in honor of our upcoming trip, and we had some amazing food. We also got to play with their two adorable corgis! It's always nice to meet interesting new people, and we really enjoyed hanging out and talking with them.
Today was a pretty relaxing day. I've been reading a wonderful book about the Sabbath, and it's inspiring me to really make Sundays a day of rest. After we get back from Spain, I'm going to try to implement a more restful Sabbath, including having a computer-free day. That is going to be hard.... Anyway, for now I'm cutting myself a little slack, what with our trip coming up and all. Tomkin got up early, but I slept in. (I'm still battling a cold and figure the rest is good for me.) We played on Facebook for a long time--it's been really fun to read people's lists of 25 random things about themselves. It's amazing how much I've learned about friends and family members that way! It was another gorgeous day, so we took Chloe for a walk down to Grand Avenue. By the time we got home, Puppy Bowl had started! I was thinking about Scout and how much he enjoyed watching stuff like that. Chloe is just not interested.... Adam and Cheryl had invited us over to watch the Super Bowl, but I opted to stay home. Tomkin went over to their place for a while, but didn't stay for much of the game. I finally got to talk to Lisa, whose baby daughter, Kaya, is now two weeks old! They're starting their trek back from Hawaii to the mainland on March 1st. So hopefully I'll get to see them all in just a few weeks! When Tomkin got home, we worked on more stuff for Spain (finalizing to-do lists, getting things together, etc.), and we watched a little TV. I can't believe we leave for Spain in just four days! As it gets closer, I'm getting more and more excited. We've actually got a couple busy days ahead, but hopefully I can blog one more time before we go. We'll be away from February 5th through the 17th. (But we will have a housesitter and a big dog here while we're away!) And by the time we get back, hopefully winter will be easing into spring....