Friday, January 23, 2009

We're in!

We moved into our new apartment yesterday! There's a lot of unpacking left to do, but things are not in total disarray, and it definitely feels good to have all the heavy lifting out of the way.

If anyone (in Davis) has a microwave they're not using, let us know! We need one...

Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Year of the Camel!

It's awful - the times when I have the most to write about, I also have the least amount of time to write about it! Here's a recap of the last month.

December 11 - I made Christmas presents for my family the night before I left for Minnesota! Of course I couldn't blog about it until everyone had received their gifts, and I had the worst time keeping them a secret. I used an antique fabric stamp that I bought in Turkey and printed t-shirts and scarves with it.




Later December: I had a wonderful, cozy, snowy vacation in Duluth. The worst part was not the -10°F weather; it was not having Margaret there. I kept waiting for her to arrive, but alas she spent Christmas in Colorado this year - it would have been too short a trip to be worth it. I did get to visit Alissa and her family at their beautiful cabin, just south of Duluth. It was a treat, even before her mom sent us home with a loaf of cardamom bread!

December 24-25: Wonderful family feasts on both days. The Christmas Eve service was beautiful - really fantastic music. My grandma was down from Baudette to spend the holiday with us, and my mom's sister and her family came up from the Cities on Christmas day.

Grandma, Mom, Fred, Dad and the Turkey
Andrew, Peter and Benjamin on the couch, the rest of the family in the kitchen.
Late December: Scott and I flew to L.A. on the 27th, and spent the week with his family. We started off in the desert - hikes through Joshua Tree National Park and dinner at a very posh country club with friends of theirs (we drove to dinner in their Rolls Royce!). We had a big family dinner, with Michael's family (Michael is Julie's fiance) and with my Aunt Barbara. Scott and I spent a night and a day with Aunt B, which was great - I don't get to see her nearly often enough, especially now that we live in the same state! Julie and I went shopping for bridesmaids dresses at vintages places (Scott and Michael and Becky gamely came along). I bought a really cute one for Margaret to wear, and Julie found some good options. I'm jealous she gets to shop at these places whenever she wants!

Sporting our CamelWear at Joshua Tree!
Video from the car window


New Year's Eve: A quiet evening with the McNivens. We got to watch a DVD of Scott's grandparents talking about their childhoods and the war years (including how they met). The movie was about 10 years old, and it was wonderful to "meet" Scott's grandpa, who passed away a few years ago.

January 1: We got back to Davis and had a few days to get our lives in order (laundry! bills!) before heading to San Francisco for the weekend. Scott attended an economics conference, and I got to hang out with my friends Mavis and Maya. We drank tea, visited the De Young museum, and then drank more tea. Scott says he had fun at the conference, but I think I got the better end of the deal.

January 5: Classes started, which was just as stressful for me as it was at the beginning of fall quarter. Since I'm taking classes as an extension student, I can't pre-register and have to just show up and hope there's space in the class for me. Happily, I got into all four classes that I wanted to take: easy bio (intro) and hard bio (genetics), easy chem (intro) and hard chem (organic). My schedule is a little crazy, but I'm so thankful that I can take all of these classes.

January 9: We flew to Austin for Sarah and Keith's wedding! It was a great weekend, filled with lots of friends (Scott's high school buddies) and amazing food and beer (much of it homemade by the couple and their families) and a great dance. I spent lots of time working on my M.S. application essays, but at least I had partners in crime - Jess was writing her M.B.A. application essays, and Scott was writing proposals. I submitted my application on Monday when we got back. Yay! Now I just have to wait and see if they'll take me...

This week: Tonight is the 5th Annual Minnesota Party, and on Thursday we're moving into our new apartment!