Back from our Southern Thanksgiving!

So - after two days of driving - we are back after spending Thanksgiving in NC with Steven's family. I will recap more tomorrow - but at least we finally made it back! After about six days of driving, a new muffler, and Steven's swim in the river while fishing, we have plenty of stories and probably have put on a few pounds since I last posted. Here are a couple pictures from our week...

Michael and Carri's Mountain House
The Boys checking the bird



Steven and his turkey



There's Steven fishing on Friday

Weekend fun

So we went to MA this weekend for a wedding on Saturday night and pre-Thanksgiving at my mom's house on Sunday. Lots of fun was had by all - especially since Lucas made a visit to spend the day with us too. Nice of him to take his mom and dad (my cousin Todd and his wife Shayna) along for the ride. Everyone had to have their pictures taken with Lucas - see his blog for those. My photo op went the best I think.

I have tons to do before we leave in the morning for North Carolina. Dropped the car off again this morning to have the breaks checked again... did I mention we went through this last week? Now when I go to a complete stop the back brakes *clunk* as you stop. Nice. Anyway - it has to be fixed or else we are driving the truck this week. Pilates is tonight though so that will be good. I may or may not be bringing the laptop to NC - so you may or may not hear from us. I'll take the camera though and take plenty of pictures to liven up the blog. Oh - and we still have a big tree laying in the backyard (but I think Peter our neighbor trimmed some of it up for us - thanks Peter!) - that won't be cut up entirely until next week at the earliest.

Rogue sea lion bites at least 14 in S.F.

This was in the Globe today - hey mom and dad - watch out when you go to San Francisco for Timmy Sarre's wedding in December...
article

Trout

Not much to talk about today - went to see the movie The Queen last night - not sure if it was Steven's kind of movie. But he was a good sport about it. In his honor - here are some pictures from his fishing trip to Long Island a couple weeks ago. My dad was giving me a hard time about not having pictures - so here you go!

Pilates

So I've been really good at going to my pilates class every Monday night. And I've practiced at least once maybe twice a week at home. I have to do some more though because the things that were hard a few weeks ago are getting easier now. So either I do the more difficult moves or do more repetitions. I like it - its relaxing and I feel more stretched out after doing it. Because I spend so much time in front of the computer I get stiff and sore especially around my shoulders. The class ends in December but the teacher said that she is offering it again in teh spring on Monday nights beginning in Februrary. I might sign up for it again.

Weekend activities

So I would have had the most exciting part captured on the camera this weekend - but the battery was dead when I went to turn it on. We borrowed Jacob's camera (the neighbor's son) but I haven't gotten the video from him yet. Steven and Peter decided to take down the sort of little tree in the backyard that was growing next to the fence and over into Peter's driveway and on top of his new garage. It seemed like a little tree, until they pulled it down and now its laying in the yard. Then it got dark on Sat night and Steven couldn't begin to cut it up, and on Sunday it was sort of drizzly and then really started raining so its still sitting there. It will most likely sit there for weeks because this weekend we are going to MA for a wedding and pre-Thanksgiving with my family, back on Sunday and then leave again on Tuesday for North Carolina for Thanksgiving and not back until late on Saturday. It gets dark so early this time of year that by 4:30 when Steven gets home there isn't much light to work.

Not much else happening - just need to catch up on stuff around the house becuase after next week I'm only home about three days total - between Thanksgiving and then a work conference. The month of December will be nice and quiet! Can't wait!

House guest

So this week we have had one of Steven's co-worker's kids staying with us. He's not a problem at all and gives Steven someone to hang out with! Last night they were making a model car in the basement and I think Steven had as much fun as Chase did. Today there is no school and so I dropped Chase off at the tennis club to hang out there today. His mom comes back tomorrow so only one more night. Not much else going on - its been really busy for me with work and now that the holiday season is starting I think its going to be much more busy overall. This weekend I have to do some baking because next weekend we go to MA for that wedding and the pre-Thanksgiving Lynch get to gether. Then its off to North Carolina, back to CT, and off to New Orleans. I won't have a breather until December.

I'm reading a good book this week - Freakonomics - its on the best seller list and its been out a while. Its interesting - sort of looks at economics in a new way. Pretty interesting for someone whose major was econ but I don't remember a thing! Not what my parents want to hear after putting me through school... but at least I still remember the political science - Steven was annoyed with me on Tuesday night beacuse I was following the election returns.

Christmas already

OK - so I know that the holidays start earlier and earlier every year, but when you go shopping to find stuff to make Thanksgiving baskets and all you can get is holiday stuff and its two and a half weeks before Thanksgiving, that is a problem. If I wanted Thanksgiving stuff I must have missed it in July! But - it was the Christmas Tree Shop - so that might have been the issue! CTS has tons of stuff for every holiday though. I do like all the snowmen things that start appearing and was tempted by some of them. Like the snowman draft dodger - his legs make the long dodger part. I really could use him though for the back door in the dining room. The draft comes in so strong there that I had to move some plants because they were getting too cold.

Fall weather makes work

Yuck - the leaves are piling up! We are probably going to have to bag another 30 bags of them. And just my luck - I leave for a meeting in Chicago this weekend. I'm at the office right now but maybe I will have a chance to get a little bit done before I have to leave later this afternoon. The front of the house looks a mess with my dying plants and the leaves. Oh well! And there are still a ton to come down off the trees.

Steven went fishing yesterday down on Long Island with the Trout Unlimited group. The stream was stocked by the state and he said he caught 30-40 fish. Of course the drive down there wasn't the greatest - but he seemed to have fun! I'm playing a little more tennis these days. I realized that if I play in the morning I feel like I get something accomplished and its not so draining. But at night I'm exhausted. The windows are coming along - slowly. Seems like we've been at it for almost a year! Steven finished a step stool for me last week which seems to nice to step on and he's got ideas for the desk. Soon that back office room will be done.