Happy New Year! Sorry I have been so absent. The holidays keep everyone busy, so I hope you understand. Since returning from Montreal, work really picked up. Everyone was taking days off, which left me a little frazzled as I pick up extra duties to help cover. We had a fun holiday party for work at the Seamen's Inne.







Don't we clean up nice?

The weekend before Christmas, I traveled back to ROC and celebrated the holidays with my family. First stop was the Winfield Grill, so say hi to friends old and new. Sunday, my brother, sister-in-law, and grandparents went to my mom's for dinner. Of course we exchanged presents (even though it wasn't Christmas yet. That's how we roll) and ate yummy food.

Monday was pretty chill because everyone was working. After work, I met my girls, Lisa and Krishna, for dinner at the Olive Garden. More presents were exchanged and laughter was heard throughout the restaurant. How I miss those lovely ladies!

Christmas I had to work. It was a half day and then I went to Narragansett for dinner with Erin's family. In honor of James and Nana, we opened crackers and wore silly hats.




The best part of the holidays was James coming to visit for a whole 6 days! New Years brought a snow storm, along with Ralph, Andrea, their friend Mike, and some beer pong in my kitchen. Unfortunately, I worked almost every day James was here but he was very understanding. He even came in and got a private tour of the aquarium and met Coco.



We love to travel, so as soon as we could we dashed out of town. Breakfast in Westerly was followed by a scenic drive along Route 1. We took a detour through Newport to see the mansions and beaches. Once again we hit the road and were Cape-bound. Out on Cape Cod, we got as far as Chatham. More beaches, hot mulled cider, and Mexican food completed our day. We stayed at the Anchor In in Hyannis. Let me say that the website does the hotel no justice. Everything was completely renovated and beautiful. We had a view of the harbor from our porch and a flat screen TV. In the morning, we strolled down Main Street with coffee from A Little French Cafe. It was a sleepy Monday morning, but much warmer than it had been over James' visit (as in, above freezing). We loaded up the Forester and headed to my old stomping ground, Woods Hole. We drove through town, stopped at the Marine Biological Laboratory campus, and drove my old house on FR Lillie Road. As the stories of my year on the Cape came back to me, we drove over to the British Beer Company. How could I not take him there? His review was positive with a "best bangers and mash stateside so far." I order mac-n-cheese, not realizing that there was ham in it. Awesome.

The rest of the trip was a little tense. It took longer to get off the Cape than anticipated. James was flying out from Providence in the late afternoon. I did my best to get him there on time, and it worked. A quick good-bye at the departure curb and he was gone again.

With the new year, I realized I need to get back on the exercise wagon. Mono and the DVT were good excuses in 2008, but 2009 is a clean slate. I signed up for Jazzercise (who knew it was making a comeback?) and applied for a part-time job at a local gym. James and I are finalizing plans for the Swiss Alps in March. It's a good incentive to be fit so I am show the ski slopes who is boss.

What's next for the amazing traveling duo? NYC baby! What's the occasion? Me turning 20-10! Yikes!


photo by J. Millington