Happy Christmas Eve!

Since getting home late Monday night we've been enjoying the chance to just relax around our own home. Yesterday we did have a rude awakening when my car wouldn't start as we were heading out to go grocery shopping. Luckily Dave answered my phone call, and our neighbors were still around to give us a jump. I guess it's time to start thinking about buying a new battery.

I also had a couple phone interviews yesterday for jobs in Richland, WA and Raleigh, NC. I wasn't able to fit in a third interview with a software company in Boston, so that will happen in early January. Hopefully some of these initial contacts will lead to more serious interviews. I'll keep you posted. As for Jason he will be meeting with at least two schools at a January conference in DC.

Happy late birthday to Lauren! I hope you had a great day yesterday, and enjoy your break from school. Have fun in Memphis too!

While at home I got to spend a lot of time with my kids. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Mt. Vincena-Reesie-Doo Erupts!

Hopefully you can make out the actual eruption. This was our pre-dinner entertainment... otherwise I doubt the kids would have eaten their food. Enjoy the silent movies... or blame Jason for any motion sickness you might experience. :-)

Finally! Vincena Gets To Build A Volcano!

Yee-haw!

Uh... yeah. We're obsessed.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Cha-cha-charleston...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I'm the king of the castle...

A silly tree-trimming picture...

Ho Ho Ho!

Today Jason finished grading all his final exams. The grades are submitted, the Fall 2008 semester is over (today was graduation), and he is officially free, free, free! So what were we to do??? Decorate for the holidays, of course!  As you can see, our stockings are hung by the windchimes with care...



We also bought our Christmas tree tonight at Lowes.  This year I was lucky enough to get lights and a tree stand for free through Tallahassee Freecycle.  The top looks a bit naked, but it's nothing a good tree-topper won't fix.  The pictures don't quite do it justice, but you get the idea.

So happy holidays from our relaxed home to yours...

Lauren's my new hero...

If you liked our dancing elf video, then you'll love this. My niece created it, and it might just be the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Happy Holidays!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Apparently this is the only time I'll ever see Jason dance to country music. Enjoy!

We're back... from outer space...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Jason and I are back in Tallahassee, and quite tired from all the driving. Here are some highlights from the trip:

• Driving from Tallahassee to Winston-Salem on the day before Thanksgiving... 15 hours awful hours, but we did get to stop at an REI outside Charlotte to winterize ourselves for our upcoming trip to PA.


• Thanksgiving: turkey and sweet potatoe casserole and tiramisu... oh my!


• Jason's nephew is talking a mile-a-minute. Being around a kid who will repeat everything I say causes me to use the phrase "Oh, shoot!" more in 5 minutes than I have in the last 5 years.


• The day after Thanksgiving was spent glued to a What Not to Wear marathon, watching Nate, throwing the football, and meeting up with my friend Matthew from grad school
  
• Saturday we drove from Winston-Salem to Franklin, NC. Along the way we...
  
  
  
  • stopped in Asheville to meet a faculty member of one of the schools Jason's applied to (Western Carolina). We love Asheville.
    
  • checked out WCU as well as Cullowhee, Sylva, and Dillsboro
    
  • saw Quantum of Solace in Franklin at a movie theater that was incredibly serious about forcing you to buy things from their concession stand.
    
  • wussed out about camping since it was raining and miserable. Instead we stayed at the Carolina Motel (but I still used my sleeping bag because it was so cold). They had the cutest stray cat that I wanted to adopt, but I figured that Hazel would not be amused.
    
  
  
• After our amusing stay in Franklin, we drove home yesterday, stopping along the way at Tallulah Gorge State Park. We stretched our legs on a rainy hike down to the falls and back. If you're ever driving near Atlanta on I-85 or I-75, but you don't have to go to Atlanta, here are our recommendations:
  
  
  
  • Use 129/441 between Macon, GA and Commerce, GA. These roads keep us sane since they maybe add 30 minutes to our drive, but allow us to avoid all things Atlanta (crazy drivers, weird interchanges, and accident-induced stand-stills).
    
  • Stop in Madison, GA which is just off I-20 and hour outside of Atlanta. It is a really friendly town with loads of charm. We had lunch here and were just about ready call it home by the time we got our check.
    
  
  
• By the way, I really, really, really hate these flower bullets. If anyone knows how to get normal circles and squares, please let me know.

Edit: Thanks, Blogger help pages. Buh-bye flowers!