One For the Memory Books

Hi Everybody,
I've missed you! It's been so long since I've been able to update or catch up on you all. I've been a whirlwind, trying to get settled, getting things unpacked and trying to find a place to put it. I'm not one for wasting effort so I like to figure out where it's going to go and then that's where it stays forever. Add onto that, Christmas, and I go into overload with activity. Something had to give and unfortunately, it was my blog.

Running has been sporadic at best, but I've gotten a few runs in. I took Danielle's advice and hooked up with a running group. They run out of the gym I joined. Of course, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I did. They're a nice group of (mostly) women and last week we met at a restaurant for a Christmas luncheon. They made sure to include me in the cards and gifts, which I really appreciated.

I'm finding that there are a lot of runners here. Yesterday I saw a woman at Trader Joe's wearing a Nike Marathon shirt. I told her I ran that too and showed her my necklace (which I haven't taken off since the race.) And a few weeks ago at a winery, I met a woman runner. We exchanged phone numbers and I invited her to join my running club for a Saturday run. So there is a running community here, even though it isn't as obvious as in the Twin Cities.

Today is Christmas and SD and I hosted the family dinner. When we lived in Minneapolis, we'd usually go to a movie on Christmas Day, because everyone else has dinner with their family. So I was happy to be able to have Christmas with my family. My husband was happy to cook, but there was still lots of work for me to do.
We ran around yesterday, trying to find the ingredients for the Creme Brulee I was making for dessert. I was trying to find vanilla bean and had to go to three different stores before I found it.

I also had to get my Dad his gift: an iTunes gift certificate. He has an iPod and uses it often; he drives to San Francisco every 3 weeks for chemo treatments and listens to tunes on his way up and also during the chemotherapy. I knew what I wanted to give him, but I forgot to buy it. Oops! Fortunately there's a Target nearby.

I was debating whether or not to get a tree this year. I didn't want to get a cut one, because of the mess and hassle with putting on lights. I weighed the pro's and con's of getting a pre-lit artificial tree, or getting a living tree. We opted for the fake tree and put it together last night. Then hung the ornaments and then wrapped presents. Finally went to bed late and got up early this morning to prepare.

Mom and Dad, my sister Deni and her husband, R. came over a little after noon. The weather was beautiful and we sat outside on the deck for a little while. SD made halibut and lemon risotta for dinner. Dad made a toast: to family. Indeed.

It was a day of conversation, eating, and drinking and was over way too soon. As SD and I cleaned up, I reflected on today and past holiday's. Dinner at Grandma's, sometimes dinner at Mom and Dad's. Today was my turn and all the extra work was worth it to have a day like today. It was an opportunity to give back, with love, all the love and sacrifice that was given to me. Who knows how many more Christmas's we'll be able to spend together. I'm grateful to have this one and will tuck it into my internal memory book, to bring out like an old photo album and remember what a fine time we had. I hope that you were able to spend Christmas with those you love. Merry Christmas, Everyone.