Thanksgiving with Friends

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice, low-key day with some awesome friends yesterday. We know both couples from vet school - Andy and Nicola have been Charlie's classmates for 4 years now! And in those 4 years, they all got married. First Charlie, then Nicola, and then Andy. We all collaborated on the meal so that it was pretty easy putting it all together. We had quite a feast.


Happy Married Thanksgiving #3!



Nicola & Jeremy



Andy & Cassie (and Pia the dog)



Look what amazing trick Jeremy & Nicola taught their dogs! One can stand on the other's nose!!! Haha.

Then, after we ate, we all went to the park just down our street and let the dogs run around (yes, we finally got our animal fix) until it got too cold. Then we came back home and had dessert and played games. What a fun day.

Animals Everywhere

The animals are out for Thanksgiving...



First, I was at the store this morning and there was a GIANT St. Bernard in the back of a pickup truck. I mean giant - I've seen those dogs before. In the cab of the truck there were two more dogs, one giant and one little. Who takes 3 dogs to the store in freezing November?



Then I was driving home and this adorable fluffy fox kept running in and out of the road. It had obviously figured out how to dodge traffic earlier in its life, because it did an excellent job. It was so cute. I really really really wanted to pick it up.



And last weekend when we were coming back from San Diego, we saw an adorable wild rabbit sitting so close to us in the parking lot.

The real question is - why am I so fascinated with this today? I think I am in animal deprivation mode or something. I know Charlie is. We can't wait for my mom to bring the dogs for Christmas. It's just unnatural for a vet student and his wife to be without pets for so long. Don't worry, I'm not going to bring home a fox or rabbit tonight ... I don't think ....

Good Stuff

Last week was a great week. The week before Thanksgiving – yay! I found out I got my dream internship for when we move back to Arizona – yay! We went to dinner at the Melting Pot with our friends – mmm – and then we saw New Moon with them today! I have a horrible memory for the plot of those books (maybe it has something to do with the fact that they are a little too easy to read and thus I finished them in a few hours) but I liked this movie a lot. Much better than the first one.


And now I’m on break! So much to do, so little time. But I love the feeling of having an entire day with no classes so I can work on the things I want to get done. Apparently, so does the rest of our town. I went to the grocery store yesterday afternoon and I literally almost left because there were NO SPOTS. When does that ever happen? But then I caught someone pulling out just as I was turning down an aisle, so I got most of my pre-Thanksgiving shopping done. We are having Thanksgiving at our house this year (our first time!) and our good friends Andy, Cassie, Jeremy and Nicola are coming over and helping make a lot of the food. I’m not much of a meat lover, so I’m excited about the cherry-blackberry cobbler I will be making. I know Charlie is looking forward to the turkey, though.

San Diego

This past weekend was the AMTA conference (music therapy) and we went to San Diego! Charlie studied all day at the hotel and around the town and I attended lots of sessions and other events at the conference. I also interviewed for my internship the first day we were there. It was such a fun time, and I almost forgot that it was going to be cold and snowy when we got back....


We went to this fun restaurant on the water and had delish fish the first night we were there.


This statue was right next to the restaurant, as was the U.S. Midway



Lots of students from CSU came to the conference. I learned alot and I loved our hotel and the swanky mall that was just a short walk away. Good thing there wasn't much time for me to shop!



My friend Megumi and I at the Cheesecake Factory. Yay for vacation!

Getting Ready for San Diego

Last weekend we had our church Stewardship Dinner, which was the best one yet! The choir I direct sang "God's Gonna Set This World On Fire" by Moses Hogan and they sounded really good. The other performances were really great too, especially the pianist who played a medley of a Liszt Etude and "The Old Rugged Cross."

Then on Sunday the choir sang another piece that also had bells and flute, and it turned out really well. Charlie recorded it so someday when I learn how, maybe I will post it. I always feel like I'm on top of the world after rehearsal. I love my church choir. :-)

Charlie has this week off and he is studying for boards and getting errands done. I need new tires before it snows "for real" like it will soon.

On Thursday morning we are leaving for San Diego, where I am going to a music therapy conference and Charlie is going to study like a fiend all day in the hotel. It should work out well.

I have not been to San Diego in a long time - I think I was about 12 the last time. It should be fun!

Thanksgiving - or Rodizio Grill

The snow finally stopped on Thursday, but it took until Saturday to melt enough for me to drive anywhere. These pictures are of my walk to school on Thursday. Every school district in town was cancelled, but CSU was in session.


My friend Alice and I, and my winter coat (of course)



My school - the Fine Arts building - it looks so pretty all in white.


Then on Sunday we went to Rodizio Grill for the first time to celebrate our friend Nicola's birthday. It was such a fun experience and I felt like I was at Disneyland. The waiters were dressed in costume and they brought so much food to our table, it became a joke after awhile. I tried to have a strategy so that I wouldn't get too full, but I was only partially successful. Anyway, it was a great time and I felt like we already had Thanksgiving, with no cooking necessary.