Bloom Holidays

Happy Belated New Year! 

I have a lots of odds and ends to note here about our trip to Indiana for Christmas and New Years. Instead of writing a lot of detail, I'm going to list some things that happened. 

John and I finished Gym Christmas and I got 8 GYMGOs in all. A solid end to 2012, fitness-wise. We also did Iron Strength several times at my parents house, and did some fun runs with Carla and Tim Best while they were visiting town.

We made this sleigh for my mom for Christmas. John always calls her J. J. for some reason, even though these aren't her initials.

We put up a nice tree in London with lots of nostalgic ornaments. We have yet to take it down, since the semester started and now we're busy. 

We did a lot of sitting around with the dogs in Bloomington. 

We visited places we love, like Upland. 

And a relatively new place, Darn Good Soup. I love this place. Simple and hits the spot.

Mark came back to town and had a great New Year's Eve party at his apartment. 

John made this French silk pie from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook more than once.

John's sister Morgan rode the Greyhound 14 hours each way just to visit us. It was so fun to show her around Bloomington, and for John and Morgan to have some sibling bonding time.

On New Year's Day we had a brunch at my parents' house. Coffee, mimosas, bloody marys, scones, and left overs from the party the night before. Not shown: breakfast casserole, also from Smitten Kitchen.

We went out to the Vid so that Morgan could beat all of us at pool, and then to Rockits for late night pizza.

 Mark also took us to a new-to-us bar called the Rail, in an old train station. They have lots of fancy cocktails. Yet another example of how Bloomington has gotten cooler since I left.

Dad and I walked the dogs several times. He gave me his own version of the IU tour and pointed out where he used to teach, where his offices were, and which building had "the computer" in it, back in the 70s. You know, the computer. The only computer.

Bloomington got about 12 inches of snow while we were in town, and some frigid temperatures. So much for retiring in a warming climate.

Other stuff:

• many trips to Sahara Mart and Bloomingfoods, for chocolate, wine, and beer. 
• Dave and Carla came, and I managed to not take any pictures the whole time. We hung out at The Tap, made lasagna, and played Foodie Fight. All in all, a nice visit with them.
• We tried to continue the 80s movie streak by watching Red Dawn with my dad. We succeeded, until the VCR eventually ate - as in, really burned - the tape. I guess movies taped from HBO in the 80s only last so long.
• John and I sang in the church choir at First United Methodist with my mom on Christmas Eve, where Dean Richards from the IU JSoM is now the choir director.
• I made a giant pan of mac n' cheese as my vegetarian entree for Christmas dinner. I think I won the prize for best entree.
• I managed to keep from eating my face off until after my wedding dress fitting, where I learned that I still love and fit into my dress. Woo hoo!
• two trips to Indy to go shopping, and one visit to BARcelona with Morgan, John, and my mom. 
• Only 6 weeks until we go back for our Reading Week break, and a bridal shower that my aunt and cousin are graciously throwing for me.

I'll write again soon with some goals for 2013.