Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Star Wars and Gingerbread Houses

The child has arrived and we have been busy. Julia went with Steven out to breakfast and then to see Star Wars with his co-workers. Big hit! Of course, she squeezed in a trip to Rocklands with William. Then we had a wonderful dinner and gingerbread decorating party with mom, Westfalls, Maureen & John (and foster puppy Nicolas), Chad, and Sarrges. They all did a wonderful job; Julia's was a piece of art. :)

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Light Up the Lake and More

On December 9, Julia took part in Light Up the Lake, a "signature university event" celebrating the first fully lit Mirror Lake of the holiday season. Julia frequented her favorites, Chop Shop and Taste of Orient.

Steven and I went to mom's concert, "Unto Us a Child is Born," at Immanuel Bible Church. The singing was beautiful--way to go mom! Our biggest adventure this week was eating wild pheasant from North Dakota, shot by Steven's colleague. It was good--kind of a cross between chicken and turkey. I used my new Instant Pot and it was pretty tender. We also got a new Yoga 900 Lenovo...what a pain to transfer and setup everything, but it is faster.


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Zero to Hero and Boston

Winding down the semester and Julia has been busy giving presentations--check out the Zero to Hero poster below--writing papers, and preparing for Spanish and Calculus 2 final exams. Her apartment is decorated so adorably for Christmas. In one week, she will be home! I cannot wait to feed her nutritiously when she's here.

I spent the week in Boston for the a conference. The highlight was seeing my BFF, Brenda, and the Christmas lighting show at Boston Commons--incredible! I also did a quick hop over to MIT and Harvard campuses. The Fairmont Copley Plaza was luxurious; word on the street is that I missed Ben Affleck filming there by a week. That would have been super, blog-worthy cool. I did, however, get to meet their friendly, black lab dog. The tree in Copley Square was nice, as well. Steven survived wonderfully and held down the fort. Check out the Wagshal's weekly haul...just for the two of us.



Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Thanksgiving Wonder-Fullness

Having Julia home on break is like getting a booster shot of happiness! We packed the time with our favorite things...Rocklands, Georgetown Cupcakes, ice skating, friends, family, and good food. Upon arrival, we headed straight for Rocklands and the three-meats platter! Julia brought Georgetown Cupcakes to her Friendsgiving brunch and enjoyed catching up with her Holton buddies. We met up with Ethan, Kathryn, Joan, Miriam, Katie, Ethan, and Aaron for ice skating. It was so nice to catch up with them. Julia also spent time with William in Georgetown (Johnny Rockets) and for a post-Thanksgiving turkey dinner at his house.

Our 15.5-pound turkey turned out delicious and was gone by Saturday night. The shrimp was good too. Wagshal's definitely makes it good and makes it easy. We started a puzzle featuring chocolate; however, it will have to wait until Julia's winter break to be completed. Thanks to Steven extending Julia's visit by a day, Julia was even able to spend time with Meme--extra-special bonus. Although we miss her terribly already, we are excited to see her again December 17. Yay!