The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Our trip back home for Christmas was pretty fantastic. I packed light, for the first time ever, making do with only my purse and one carry-on bag for the entire two weeks. I'm usually at least a three bag traveler so this was a significant accomplishment. My first flight alone went smoothly, without turbulence or other worrisome things. My seatmate, however, did not share my opinion, being an extremely nervous flyer who rocked incessantly through the entire flight. 

Oregon was on its best behavior for my arrival, complete with blue skies and sunshine! Please excuse the prop in the photo; I was committed to documenting this rare occurrence. Unfortunately, the sun only lasted for the afternoon before returning to the standard grey and rain.

Mt Hood

Before leaving Idaho, I had lamented the fact that my cozy slippers took up too much room to accompany me. Chris arrived about a week after I did and, little did I know, had decided to make room in his bag to bring my slippers with him. I'm a lucky girl to have married such a thoughtful man.

We enjoyed lots of laughter, conversation, relaxation, and food while visiting family, catching up with friends, and playing around on the farm. I intended to post a slew of pictures from the trip, but it appears that we accidentally left our camera in Oregon. These two measly photos are all I have for now, but I suppose two are better than none.

Scenery from my parents' neck of the woods

 The pets were excited to have us home again; the pup hasn't let us out of his sight and the cat has been purring nonstop.

Blurry, but just look at that grin

Obsession of the week: The Lumineers - Ho Hey

 If you haven't heard this yet then you're definitely missing out. I'm not much of a dancer, but I can't stay still listening to this song.

Season's Greetings

Wishing you a wonderful holiday and happy New Year! 

Workin' For a Living

I didn't anticipate being quite so busy during the last leg of this term, but it's over now and it looks as though my efforts have paid off. I won't be taking as many credits next term because we are in the process of buying a house! We put in an offer and were accepted last week so I'm heading back to the real (working) world to help smooth the transition. We hadn't planned to get serious about finding "the" house until spring, but we happened across a fantastic deal and decided to take the plunge a little early.

But before anything else, I'm heading back to Oregon for an extended visit. Here's hoping that the sun shows up at least a couple of times while I'm there since Idaho has been spoiling me with massive amounts of sunshine. My plan for relaxation: A long run through the countryside followed by a new book and a glass (or two) of good wine, repeated daily. 

We had a little visitor last week who was pretty suspicious of the dog...

...but they eventually got used to each other.