Happy New Year!

It was so nice to have two 4-day weekends off of work in a row, though I ended up working a bit New Year's Day (while I watched a movie, so not too bad). I've been sort of burned out w/ work since we've been so busy with documenting a huge project. It'll be nice when that is done - if it's ever really considered done.
Anyway, for NYE, I got to spend the morning with Shaunna while Keith worked a half-day before they left for Logan. We watched Julie & Julia together and it was delightful! For the evening's festivities, Jeremy and I met his friends and their wives at Buca di Peppo for a yummy Italian meal. Then we went to his sister Angie's place and played games w/ his two sisters & cousin and their significant others.
NY Day was a nice, lazy day of movie watching, then Jeremy picked me up and we met his dad & his wife Brendy, her kids and their families at the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square. It was great fun, and we did an impromptu photo shoot afterwards on Santa's sleigh. Good times...

Christmas and stuff

December flew by even faster than November. What's the deal with that? One highlight, before the holidays kicked into gear, was doubling w/ my cousin Angie & her hubby Anthony. We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Med and talked & laughed for hours. Love you guys! We need to do this stuff more often! Anthony is training to be a super-cool helicopter pilot, and Angie is a very successful and talented photographer. Check out her website to view her fabulous work!
It was fun to spend some time w/ Jeremy's family and my family as we celebrated the season. For pictures of the holidays, see my latest postings on my Picaso Web Gallery.
Since buying and decorating my house, I've had a few needs for a sewing machine. Shaunna has loaned me hers and helped me to sew curtains for my bedroom and also some pillows. So a year or two ago, I put a sewing machine on my Amazon Wish List and then forgot about it. Fast-forward to this Christmas, and Jeremy's dad & his wife Brenda were trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas. Jeremy had seen my wish list and suggested to them a sewing machine, which they got pretty excited about. They would never buy “just the basic, standard model” though! They got me a fancy sewing machine w/ 80 different stitches! SO generous! Then Betty – knowing I didn’t own a sewing machine and not knowing about the Willeys gift – gave me a sewing manual and a super nice sewing kit for Christmas!! Somebody up there wants me to SEW! I'm pretty sure my Mom orchestrated the whole thing from Heaven.
Brittany & her family came to town after Christmas and she got to spend a fun 24 hours with me at my place. Unfortunately I had to work during the day, but we still managed to have some fun. We did some shopping, ate at Wingers, and drove around (slowly) in the beautifully falling snow! We love the snow!!