Last Blog of the Year

I'm doing my best today to be productive so I have time later for a run while it's still sunny, a Christmas manicure and to bake my annual pumpkin cheesecake for my coworkers later this week. Most of my weekends have been pretty busy as of late, this weekend has been no exception. Saturday morning, I got up and forced myself to use my elliptical so I would have enough time to get ready and get to my electrolysis appointment. I headed straight to Nashua from there to celebrate Faith's 25th birthday. We hung out for a bit at their house then went to Salem, MA. We walked around, checked out some of the history and experienced the witch museum which included a show and tour. We also checked out some neat little shops and headed to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Burlington. We hung out for a little bit at their house before turning in for the night. Goopy was curled up next to me for most of the night. Sunday morning was a little lazy, we just hung out and chatted over coffee and breakfast before I headed home around 1130. For the rest of the day yesterday, I only had energy for some laundry, the dishes, and to grab a few groceries. Feel better today so hopefully I'll finish this entry, run some errands and enjoy a brisk run outside because I haven't gone in 2 weeks. Also doing my monthly HOA business today.

Picking up where I left off last: The weekend of 11.15. Saturday I don't remember much but I did use the elliptical on top of my usual Saturday stuffies. On Sunday, I did some Xmas decorating, went for a run, then headed to Home Depot to rent an auger. Turns out I had to return it the following morning without accomplishing our task because we needed to consult the Dig Safe people. Zita is brilliant. Also did my grocery shopping. Monday, don't recall much other than spending a bunch of time on ancestry.com.

The following weekend, I was home Friday night. Saturday morning, I went to Barre then rented the auger from Home Depot for attempt #2. Kristen and I helped Brad dig the hole and secure the dues mailbox...finally put that task behind us. I returned it on my way to Claremont to spend the evening with Emilee. We caught up on our lives, had dinner at Ramuntos, stopped in at her Dad's, then had margaritas at Time Out. I came home with a pumpkin roll for Thanksgiving. Ended up eating half of it myself eventually. That night, I woke up with the worst feeling period cramps I've had since my teen years. It made me poop and puke many times (one time simultaneously). I was finally able to fall back asleep around 6 but Sunday ended up being a bust because I was so wiped out. I did, however, grabbed some groceries and did my annual fridge cleaning. On Monday, I went for a run and ran some errands.

Thanksgiving was at Denise and Eric's house this year. I spent most of the day hanging out with Simone as I hadn't seen her since CT. It was a much needed distraction from having to interact with or listen to certain people. Ray Zabel and Faith's boyfriend was there which was nice. The food, per usual, was delicious. I headed out before anyone because I wanted to get back home in plenty of time to enjoy dessert and get ready for work the following morning. That weekend, I got up and went to Barre class Saturday morning. I also did my grocery shopping and did an elliptical work out after Xmas gift planning. On Sunday, I went for a run and meal prepped for the week. Monday, I did cyber Monday Xmas shopping and used the elliptical.

Last weekend, I went to Barre Saturday morning then did some stuffies waiting for Brandi to arrive. She arrived early afternoon. We chatted for awhile then hit up some stores with lattes before heading to dinner at the Worthy Kitchen. We grabbed some ice cream on the way home and watched Christmas with the Kranks before going to bed. We met Kelly and Ruby at Lou's for breakfast Sunday morning. We hit up King Arthur Flour before heading south to Laura's house (with a little pit stop in Northampton). Laura's mom has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and started treatment for that. Naturally, she is a wreck so we spent the afternoon and evening with her. We chatted over wine for a little bit and had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant in Springfield. We spontaneously rented ice skates at a nearby rink afterwards and ice skated for a little while. I thought for sure I'd wipe out but I didn't and it actually ended up being pretty fun. We checked out a candle store before heading back to Laura's house. We visited for a little while longer before heading out to our respective homes. I feel so sad for Laura but the day will be a good memory for all of us despite the circumstances. Monday morning, a plumber came to install the smaller water meter the city gave me to replace my current one. They moved to a fixed price billing system so now my water bill is much higher. This is their solution but at my expense. The plumber ended up not doing it because we decided I needed to find out exactly how much this will affect my bill before I spend almost 1000 bucks on a plumber (to do this job plus another job they discovered while they were in my basement). For now, I'm waiting for answers and a second opinion. Owning a house is a pain in the ass.

My cousin Kathy lost her battle with cancer on November 29th. RIP Kathy <3 p="">
My life, otherwise, has been pretty status quo. Until next year...