wonderful things make wonderful days.

Today was some kind of holy day here. After 4 straight weeks of rain (sprinkled with snow and hail), the sun came out! It was miraculous and beautiful and refreshing and oh, so pleasant. Needless to say, it has been a wonderful few days.

Although this was not a traditional Christmas and it was my first Christmas away from the family, it was wonderful in its own way. We made a bunch of hors d'oeuvres and filled the table with these wonderful treats. We had traditional French things such as toast points with smoked salmon and foie gras (I obviously did not do any eating of that). We had shrimp cocktail, miniature sauce covered crackers with different cheeses and olives on top (and served hot out of the oven), pasta, and cheese (my favorite from the Basque region).

We skyped with my family and watched them open the presents we gave them. We danced in the apartment together. Then, we exchanged gifts.

Christmas day was unusual but equally as wonderful. We started with homemade pancakes, watched five movies, and munched on leftovers throughout the day.

Perhaps it wasn't a traditional Christmas but it was a wonderful weekend spent with a guy who sometimes needs to sit back, relax, and disconnect from his work.

My vacation started today! I spent it doing some returns, catching up on e-mails, driving 45 minutes (and back) to get us Subway foot-longs and just relaxing!

The sky is incredible tonight. There is a crescent moon and the North Star is incredibly bright. Seeing that beautiful sunset on my way home from my extremely unnecessary trip to Subway was a wonderful ending to my relaxing day.

I'm juicing up the iPod now and then I'm off to hit the gym! Any recommendations for workout music?

Well, here's what I'm listening to now: