YAY VACATION!

Hey, Amanda.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Vacation at last. Even though I just had one seven weeks ago, it feels good to have another. As you know, teaching is just another animal and requires frequent breaks. It zaps you physically and emotionally, and sometimes the occasional snow day just doesn't do enough to refresh.

Drinks with M and F were good, then afterward I did take myself out for my favorite 10 dollar steak dinner, which was particularly delicious last night. I went to bed early and woke up early, and now that I've done my exercise DVD I am making my plans for the day. I have nothing special planned, but I do need a few things that require a trip to WalMart. If they don't have everything I need there, I'll move on to other stores I guess. As far as tonight goes, I may just start a new book or watch a movie. Maybe both. I promised to watch Secret Life of Bees with C this week after we go out to lunch, but am tempted to watch it myself first. I do have The Kite Runner on hand, as well, though, so maybe I'll resist.

The cousin debacle took an ugly turn last night...an email came from J, the cousin we are trying to get together with when she's here from California, saying she misses us all but had no idea a little get together would be so difficult to plan. The email that followed that was from her sister D1, saying, I guess we just can't agree on anything this time. I'm out. See you on Easter, which is unfortunate. It is kind of crazy, and I want to take a lot of the blame on since I offered to host and rescinded, but I think ultimately D1 or D3 (her sister-in-law) or someone from her immediate family should have offered to host to begin with, since they had in mind to include people not in the family whom I shouldn't feel any obligation to host--even if I could fit them. I'm not sending any responses for now, just going to keep trying to let it go, and see if someone else intervenes, like my sister L, who never really got into the debate when it was getting nasty.

I am also going to spend lots of time looking forward to my mini vacation in Boston. W and I have all sorts of stuff planned, including some things we don't typically have a chance to do. Aside from dinners out, we're going to some shopping at downtown crossing (there's an Eddie Bauer outlet there), where I don't typically get to. Thursday night we're going out to a jazz club, and Friday night we're going to try a place I've never been in the new Kenmore Square. A new swanky hotel is there now, and this is one of the new restaurants on that strip of Comm Ave where the Rat and that walk down bar we went for Tequila Sunrises with K used to be. (It used to have the board games, remember? I'm blanking on the name. Darn. btw, W used to go there, too, during those years we were unknowingly crossing paths.) Anyway, I'm excited about our plans, and can hardly wait to be there.

Hope you have a good weekend. Be in touch when you can.

xo,
Barb