Giving thanks
Ok, I'm back. I haven't really had time to post til now... haven't really had the inclination either. So here's a (hopefully) brief rundown of the past 3 weeks or so.
Bryon home on leave
On the 2nd of November, Bryon got home for a 15-day leave. It was a little weird at first, honestly, but we got over that fast and then it was like he'd never left. Some of the stuff we did:
- ate in basically every restaurant within 10 miles, and a few outside of it. He says they don't get enough food over there, so he was really enjoying being full.
- visited with lots of friends. We threw a "Bryon's on leave" party, so he got to see relatives, family friends, and our friends who were in town.
- went to see The Incredibles. Verrrrry entertaining.
- stayed at a positively wonderful bed & breakfast. Turns out Bryon may be related to one of the people historically related to the town. Neat. :D Afterwards we went to Syracuse and found a HUGE comic shop, ate at the Spaghetti Warehouse (a very fun experience) and hit the Carousel Mall.
- watched a lot of TV. Obviously Bryon misses it, and I don't watch it much on my own. I do enjoy a lot of the shows though.
- played a lot of video games. He beat the cave troll for me in Lord of the Rings, and the two of us pushed on until we've played through most of the game; I still have to finish it and then replay it with the other two characters in order to unlock all the extras. Bryon bought me a new DDR game too, so I was having lots of fun with that. :D
- were bowled over by the small invasion force known as Bryon's nephews. Evvvvveryone came down from Vermont for a few days. I got to be good buddies with the kids, especially the 3rd and 4th kids (there are 5; they're all boys). Bryon took all the kids to EB Games and let them each pick out a game; they ended up getting an EyeToy as well (the little camera thing you put on top of your TV, that puts you on the screen so you can whack at things), which was a lot of fun.
- visited Cypress Street again to take lunch to Bryon's dad, who was working on repairs. By the way, I've officially decided that I'm going to just sit tight until Bryon gets back and not move into the apartment. It's just... we don't know where Bryon will be when he gets back, and I want to be free for us to make whatever decision we want.
- had to take Bryon back to the airport. :( He managed to get his flight pushed back two hours. We stayed up the whole night beforehand. I did not do too well at the airport. I got teary when we had to say goodbye (long before his plane took off, because I couldn't go through security to the actual gate), and I sat there and watched him through this big glass wall. When he saw that I was watching him, he sat right in the middle of a walkway to put his boots back on so I could still see him. :) I was pretty much sniffling that whole time. When he finally had to walk away, I had to turn around and walk out to the Jeep... that was the worst part - having to voluntarily walk out of there when Bryon was still there! I sat in the Jeep and just sobbed for about 10 minutes. Finally I drove back to Bryon's house and started writing him a letter - but I was laying on his bed to write it and I fell asleep. I woke up just in time to get ready for work - my first day full-time.
New Job!
The job is going well. I've done a week's worth of days full-time now. Thursday and Friday were... amazingly enough... PAID HOLIDAYS. I almost fell out of my chair when they told me that. So far I am still in a settling-in period; it wasn't very organized (or clean!) before so I am trying to remedy that. The biggest parts of the job right now is sending out thank yous for membership donations and answering the phone. Eventually I will be doing a newsletter and a historical journal, but they put one of each out right before the previous girl left, so it won't be for a while. I am very excited about this job. It is the first full-time, salaried position, with benefits, that I have ever had. So, I will do my best to fulfill their needs!
Thanksgiving Overload
I ate four Thanksgiving dinners this year. #1 was at Bryon's house; his mom cooked it while he and his sister's family were all there. #2 was dinner at Kim's mom's house, which I attended for emotional support. #3 was Thanksmas Dinner at Donya's; they're never home for Thanksgiving OR Christmas so they thought they'd start a new tradition. I was already pretty close to my food limit due to the two weeks of restaurant overload, and this didn't really help, although it was very fun to celebrate with so many different people.
Actual Thanksgiving
We had Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year, and I got to decorate the table. We couldn't come up with dishes and a tablecloth that matched so I ended up sort of making my own table runner... I masking-taped a piece of maroon fabric (a remnant from Jo-Ann's) to the center of the table, taping it under the edges, and put strips of wide orange-and-maroon plaid ribbon along either edge. I used a nice set of candleholders my aunt gave me for Christmas a few years ago, and sprinkled the (fake) fall leaves from the Halloween party down the center. :D I also put the napkins in the glasses, with a few little snips of sparkly berry branches in each one. Actually... since a picture is worth a thousand words...
It was a wonderful meal - lots of yummy food and four kinds of dessert. ;_; I wish I hadn't been so sick of food by that point. In the evening I went to see the new Bridget Jones movie with Kim, Sara and Stine. It was very enjoyable, although not quite as good as the first.
Post-Thanksgiving Marathon
I actually shopped on Black Friday for what I am sure is the first time in my life. Michaels was having huge sales starting at 6 am, so Stine and I met around 7:30 so we could use the 6-8 am coupon (60% off) and the 8-10 am coupon (50% off). It was really fun, and I got some great deals. We also hit Coconuts; the line in there went all the way to the back of the store but was also worth it because I picked up some presents for really good prices - like the new Gwen Stefani CD for $8, and the Aladdin Special Edition DVD for $9.99!! (Ok, is it sad that these were my own presents? I just thought I might as well because my parents weren't going to find them cheaper anywhere else...)
Later that night the girls came over here. I'd been watching Pollyanna with my mom (I had no idea how much I loved that movie) and then The Parent Trap came on; so the girls and I ended up watching that, PLUS the Lindsay Lohan remake that was on after it. We all agreed the remake is not as good as the first, but somehow ended up watching the whole thing anyway. We would have watched the Annie remake that was on too, but my brother's girlfriend came over so we left the TV to them.
On Saturday, I went to the high school craft fair with my mom and my Aunt Lisa. It was lots of fun. What interested me most of all was seeing the knit and sewn items, and trying to figure out how they were made. XD Heheh. I did buy a couple of really lovely rusted-metal star ornaments; one has little cutouts in it, and the other has a painted image of a snowman and two penguins. :D Then we went to the Crafting Cottage, which is deadly. Let's just say I have a lot of scrapbooking ahead of me, and it will be BEAUTIFUL.
After that I got dropped off at Kim's, and she and Stine and I went to Corning to meet Sara at work. She works in a bridal shop - by herself that day - so let's just say there was a complete girlfest for a good hour or so. We got to try on dresses, and I think I found the wedding dress I want (although in the catalog it was a hot pink prom dress, but the design is wonderful). :D I've never been this excited about a dress before. The hardest part was getting all of us to stop trying on the tiaras... it was like putting four 3-year-olds in a giant toy store. Hee hee hee. After that we wandered up and down Market Street; we did run into Crystal and Justin and Tyler, who were there for the Parade of Lights. There was a bit of shopping, and much entertainment, and a little food. West High School's marching band was in the parade, which meant my two cousins were in there; they had just returned from marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year!
Finally, we ended up at Stine's, watching her videotapes of all these 80s shows like Fraggle Rock, Strawberry Shortcake, and Rose Petal Place. We also watched The Christmas Toy, a Jim Henson movie I'd never heard of, let alone seen. It was cute. I love going back and watching that stuff. Speaking of, I want to get the Jem DVD box set that's out. :D :D :D
*whew* I think that's it. It's been a busy few weeks! I'm sure it will settle down a bit now that most people won't be home. Besides, I have to work. :)
Bryon home on leave
On the 2nd of November, Bryon got home for a 15-day leave. It was a little weird at first, honestly, but we got over that fast and then it was like he'd never left. Some of the stuff we did:
- ate in basically every restaurant within 10 miles, and a few outside of it. He says they don't get enough food over there, so he was really enjoying being full.
- visited with lots of friends. We threw a "Bryon's on leave" party, so he got to see relatives, family friends, and our friends who were in town.
- went to see The Incredibles. Verrrrry entertaining.
- stayed at a positively wonderful bed & breakfast. Turns out Bryon may be related to one of the people historically related to the town. Neat. :D Afterwards we went to Syracuse and found a HUGE comic shop, ate at the Spaghetti Warehouse (a very fun experience) and hit the Carousel Mall.
- watched a lot of TV. Obviously Bryon misses it, and I don't watch it much on my own. I do enjoy a lot of the shows though.
- played a lot of video games. He beat the cave troll for me in Lord of the Rings, and the two of us pushed on until we've played through most of the game; I still have to finish it and then replay it with the other two characters in order to unlock all the extras. Bryon bought me a new DDR game too, so I was having lots of fun with that. :D
- were bowled over by the small invasion force known as Bryon's nephews. Evvvvveryone came down from Vermont for a few days. I got to be good buddies with the kids, especially the 3rd and 4th kids (there are 5; they're all boys). Bryon took all the kids to EB Games and let them each pick out a game; they ended up getting an EyeToy as well (the little camera thing you put on top of your TV, that puts you on the screen so you can whack at things), which was a lot of fun.
- visited Cypress Street again to take lunch to Bryon's dad, who was working on repairs. By the way, I've officially decided that I'm going to just sit tight until Bryon gets back and not move into the apartment. It's just... we don't know where Bryon will be when he gets back, and I want to be free for us to make whatever decision we want.
- had to take Bryon back to the airport. :( He managed to get his flight pushed back two hours. We stayed up the whole night beforehand. I did not do too well at the airport. I got teary when we had to say goodbye (long before his plane took off, because I couldn't go through security to the actual gate), and I sat there and watched him through this big glass wall. When he saw that I was watching him, he sat right in the middle of a walkway to put his boots back on so I could still see him. :) I was pretty much sniffling that whole time. When he finally had to walk away, I had to turn around and walk out to the Jeep... that was the worst part - having to voluntarily walk out of there when Bryon was still there! I sat in the Jeep and just sobbed for about 10 minutes. Finally I drove back to Bryon's house and started writing him a letter - but I was laying on his bed to write it and I fell asleep. I woke up just in time to get ready for work - my first day full-time.
New Job!
The job is going well. I've done a week's worth of days full-time now. Thursday and Friday were... amazingly enough... PAID HOLIDAYS. I almost fell out of my chair when they told me that. So far I am still in a settling-in period; it wasn't very organized (or clean!) before so I am trying to remedy that. The biggest parts of the job right now is sending out thank yous for membership donations and answering the phone. Eventually I will be doing a newsletter and a historical journal, but they put one of each out right before the previous girl left, so it won't be for a while. I am very excited about this job. It is the first full-time, salaried position, with benefits, that I have ever had. So, I will do my best to fulfill their needs!
Thanksgiving Overload
I ate four Thanksgiving dinners this year. #1 was at Bryon's house; his mom cooked it while he and his sister's family were all there. #2 was dinner at Kim's mom's house, which I attended for emotional support. #3 was Thanksmas Dinner at Donya's; they're never home for Thanksgiving OR Christmas so they thought they'd start a new tradition. I was already pretty close to my food limit due to the two weeks of restaurant overload, and this didn't really help, although it was very fun to celebrate with so many different people.
Actual Thanksgiving
We had Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year, and I got to decorate the table. We couldn't come up with dishes and a tablecloth that matched so I ended up sort of making my own table runner... I masking-taped a piece of maroon fabric (a remnant from Jo-Ann's) to the center of the table, taping it under the edges, and put strips of wide orange-and-maroon plaid ribbon along either edge. I used a nice set of candleholders my aunt gave me for Christmas a few years ago, and sprinkled the (fake) fall leaves from the Halloween party down the center. :D I also put the napkins in the glasses, with a few little snips of sparkly berry branches in each one. Actually... since a picture is worth a thousand words...
It was a wonderful meal - lots of yummy food and four kinds of dessert. ;_; I wish I hadn't been so sick of food by that point. In the evening I went to see the new Bridget Jones movie with Kim, Sara and Stine. It was very enjoyable, although not quite as good as the first.
Post-Thanksgiving Marathon
I actually shopped on Black Friday for what I am sure is the first time in my life. Michaels was having huge sales starting at 6 am, so Stine and I met around 7:30 so we could use the 6-8 am coupon (60% off) and the 8-10 am coupon (50% off). It was really fun, and I got some great deals. We also hit Coconuts; the line in there went all the way to the back of the store but was also worth it because I picked up some presents for really good prices - like the new Gwen Stefani CD for $8, and the Aladdin Special Edition DVD for $9.99!! (Ok, is it sad that these were my own presents? I just thought I might as well because my parents weren't going to find them cheaper anywhere else...)
Later that night the girls came over here. I'd been watching Pollyanna with my mom (I had no idea how much I loved that movie) and then The Parent Trap came on; so the girls and I ended up watching that, PLUS the Lindsay Lohan remake that was on after it. We all agreed the remake is not as good as the first, but somehow ended up watching the whole thing anyway. We would have watched the Annie remake that was on too, but my brother's girlfriend came over so we left the TV to them.
On Saturday, I went to the high school craft fair with my mom and my Aunt Lisa. It was lots of fun. What interested me most of all was seeing the knit and sewn items, and trying to figure out how they were made. XD Heheh. I did buy a couple of really lovely rusted-metal star ornaments; one has little cutouts in it, and the other has a painted image of a snowman and two penguins. :D Then we went to the Crafting Cottage, which is deadly. Let's just say I have a lot of scrapbooking ahead of me, and it will be BEAUTIFUL.
After that I got dropped off at Kim's, and she and Stine and I went to Corning to meet Sara at work. She works in a bridal shop - by herself that day - so let's just say there was a complete girlfest for a good hour or so. We got to try on dresses, and I think I found the wedding dress I want (although in the catalog it was a hot pink prom dress, but the design is wonderful). :D I've never been this excited about a dress before. The hardest part was getting all of us to stop trying on the tiaras... it was like putting four 3-year-olds in a giant toy store. Hee hee hee. After that we wandered up and down Market Street; we did run into Crystal and Justin and Tyler, who were there for the Parade of Lights. There was a bit of shopping, and much entertainment, and a little food. West High School's marching band was in the parade, which meant my two cousins were in there; they had just returned from marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year!
Finally, we ended up at Stine's, watching her videotapes of all these 80s shows like Fraggle Rock, Strawberry Shortcake, and Rose Petal Place. We also watched The Christmas Toy, a Jim Henson movie I'd never heard of, let alone seen. It was cute. I love going back and watching that stuff. Speaking of, I want to get the Jem DVD box set that's out. :D :D :D
*whew* I think that's it. It's been a busy few weeks! I'm sure it will settle down a bit now that most people won't be home. Besides, I have to work. :)
