I'm Back!

I took a bit of an unexpected break from blogging and twitter over the holiday season. I had every intention of keeping up with my blog as I visited family and friends over the past two weeks. Instead, I read. A lot. I'm currently reading East of Eden, a book I've often thought about picking up and was too intimidated. I finally received it as a gift this Christmas from a colleague and I no longer had any excuses. It is not a book you can fly through, there are a ton of very descriptive paragraphs and you really have to think about the characters and how they are connected. So it has taken quite a bit of my time. Recently, I've found the only way to get my mind off of work is to read. I made a conscious decision when I started this job that work would stay at work. All of my files are kept on my work computer and I don't bring home grading. But one thing I didn't expect was that my mind would stay at work when I got home. I discovered that reading would take my mind off of work so that I was fully present while at home. I also discovered that I really really love reading for pleasure. Graduate school didn't leave much time for reading for fun. I've forgotten how fun reading can be.

I also spent a lot of time talking to my parents, visiting a few of my favorite places in my hometown, and visiting with friends. Last year at this time many of my friends were living in Columbia. We ate lunch together almost weekly. Now we are scattered across the country. One moved back home to Virginia, another moved to Alabama with her husband, another moved to New York City, one is in St. Louis finishing law school. Reconnecting with all of them was one of the highlights of my trip back home. I love hearing about all the new places they are living and hearing about what is new about our hometown or what is the same. I've been friends with most of these girls since middle school, can you imagine? We are still great friends and when we get together it is like no time has passed at all.

I made a point to visit many of my favorite restaurants including BK Bakery, Arris' Bistro, Bleu, and Gumby's Pizza. I also discovered a new favorite restaurant, Hot Millions. Attention all mid-Missouri friends, you must try Hot Millions Bistro in Jefferson City! It is one of the best Indian food restaurants I've been to. I would love to see it be successful! Delish. Eric and I filled up on BK Bakery's croissants, scones, gingerbread cookies, and eclairs. We can't get enough of that place!

My mom treated me to TWO massages, that's right, two. The first one left me exremely sore. The second one left me extremely relaxed. I used to get monthy massages when I lived in Columbia,  it was my little treat to myself. I suspended the membership when I moved to Indiana, but I may need to start it up again. It is amazing what a good massage can do for the body. I'm hooked. I also got my hair cut by my favorite stylist. I just haven't found a good replacement for her in Bloomington. I've only had one hair cut, and it wasn't bad by any means, but finding the perfect hair stylist is a tough job. I'm not ready to give mine up just yet. I'm sure you girls out there can relate!

Anyway, that was my holiday break. I'll be posting about our Christmas and New Year celebrations in the coming days. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still around. :)

Happy New Year, Everyone!