Christmas

Talked with Mom last night, and we decided it would probably be best if I stayed here for Christmas, since it would be such a long drive for such a short visit. I'm still on the Rice Diet, so I'll have Christmas dinner at the Rice House. I'm glad to be staying the course on my diet, but a little sad about not seeing Mom and Dad for Christmas. I will spend more time with George, who has agreed to join me for the Rice House Christmas dinner and church festivities.

Update

I ran in the Reindeer Romp 5K in Cary, NC, yesterday. Although I didn't improve my time like I'd hoped, I finished in about 52 minutes, not bad for me. It was a fun race, and my buddy Stephanie ran with me, which made it even more fun! It was a beautiful morning, to boot.

My niece, Laura, found out on Thursday that she got into Duke! I'm so excited for her! Looking forward to seeing her more, too.

Fun weekend

George and I had a wonderful day on Saturday, celebrating my birthday a little late. We started out at Doc Green's, a gourmet salad restaurant near Southpoint Mall, for lunch. After some window shopping at Lane Bryant and Omega Sports, I went to a nearby nail salon for a manicure and pedicure while George went next door to get his hair cut. George came back to visit with me while my nails were being done, and surprised me by paying for my spa-like treatment! Later, we went over to Southpoint Mall and had dinner at Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill, where I had a yummy salmon dish cooked to order (the Rice Diet way). Afterward, we went to see the movie, "The Holiday," which was right cute!

It was a movie weekend, as we went to see the Borat movie Friday night. It was hilarious in spots, just crude in others! I'm glad we went to see it, though, as I'd been curious about it.

Yesterday, we joined George's brother and sister-in-law, as well as his mother, at the North Carolina Museum of Art, to celebrate my birthday too. :) We went to see the Monet in Normandy exhibit, which was wonderful! Afterward, I'd missed the lunch hours at the Rice House, so George's mom took us to lunch at the Applebee's in Raleigh, where I was able to get a salmon dish cooked to order again. I've come to love salmon!

Another 5K

I've signed up for another 5K road race, this one in Cary on December 16. It's called the New Balance Reindeer Romp, proceed of which will go to Girls on the Run of the Triangle. Since I'm up to 75 minutes on the elliptical, I'm hoping my endurance is better, and I know I'm a little lighter. I'm excited at the possiblity of improving my time.

Last weekend

George and I spent some extra time at our church, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (which we call ERUUF for short), last weekend, as our new lead minister was installed. It was interesting to be a part of the celebration, which included a number of guest speakers. I was especially impressed by one lady in particular, Ginnie Courter, who is the current moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She was very well spoken, energetic, funny, and sharp. I would love to have someone like her for a mentor.

We went to a panel discussion of 4 people on Saturday night on Unitarian Universalism Today and Tomorrow. The panel included not only the lady mentioned above, but the last lead minister of ERUUF as well. It was nice to meet him. The installation service was Sunday afternoon, followed by a reception. The food looked great, but I stuck to fresh fruit, which was tasty too.

Birthday

I had a really nice birthday, especially considering it was a Monday, and dinner was at the Rice House. I had a good visit with Mom and Dad, who brought cards and a couple of presents when they met me at the Rice House. Mom had already taken me clothes shopping a few days ago, when I got several cute items in the next size smaller!

Lisa and Craig sent a new iPod my way via Mom and Dad (who went to San Fransisco for Thanksgiving)! It's red and cute as a button! Craig and Marion loaded some songs on there already, over 1700! A lot of the music is right on, and some of it I've never heard before!

Tis the Season

I pulled down my Christmas card boxes this morning before I left for work, and put them on my breakfast table. I'm excited about doing Christmas cards this year, for some reason! I feel this need to reconnect with folks.

Meanwhile, today is my birthday. My parents are meeting me at the Rice House for dinner. I miss being taken out for my birthday, but it's not about the food, right?

Today I brought some dip and crackers (along with cute little Christmas plates) into work for everyone. Folks seem to like it. I just felt like helping folks cheer up on a cold Monday morning. Okay, so maybe a little bit of it was throwing myself a birthday party, without people knowing it's my birthday! A little strange, perhaps.

My old pal Angela called and left me a Happy Birthday message this morning! I can't wait to call her back later!

Weightloss Milestone

At check-in this morning, I lost 2.1 pounds and a total of 50.2 pounds since I started the Rice Diet! Woohoo! The past couple of weeks on the scales have been a little strange, so I'm glad to have made some good progress at last.