Friends, family, and ice.

I had a whirlwind weekend, squeezing as much into a two-day trip "home" as I could. Coincidentally, the Zs were in town for the weekend, too, so I got to even see my NYC friend! Thursday I headed into the D to meet with my new boss about my new job (yes, you heard that right!). It's only a 8-month project, but it's part time, from home, and it's for the C D C. AND it's in my field. AND I get to use my fancy MA skills. I feel very brainy for the first time in a long time, project manager and all! Afterward, I headed down to Northville to visit Lisa S. and Digby and see her very beautiful house for the first time since she's moved in. Delicious Deadwood followed, followed by Holiday Inn and some L. Mawby Detroit sparkling wine (my new favorite).

Friday it was up early and down to Ann Arbor to meet my Rachel at Whole Foods for some coffee and catching up. Then it was time for SUSHI, my most favoritest sushi in the world -- Godaiko, of course (although I was annoyed I had forgotten Friday is not a good buy-one-get-one-free day. Oh well!). Sarah, Mike, and Birgit met me for the gorge fest, and I think I was quite impressive in my three-roll push. Then it was downtown for some shopping and Lisa Z.ing! Can't believe it's been four months since we all moved away and four months since we've seen each other... Let's hope we don't have to wait another four months for a visit! Then it was dinner time, and Melissa S. drove down to dine with Birgit and me at Jolly Pumpkin, where we flirted our way into a free dessert. Finally, Saturday morning I met Kristal and LZ for coffee and chit chat. Phew! Then... it was back home... with my dad!

We're staying in St. Joe for Christmas (alone!), so we decided to celebrate early with my dad. He hasn't left Ann Arbor since he moved there, either, so I figured it was a good time for a mini road trip for him. Our actual celebration took place Sunday night, and I whipped up some veggie lasagna for the occasion (after a long discussion with my dad about how chicken, even skinless, is still meat). I even picked up a Christmas tree for the event...

Now the pickle has a more authentic home.

We're still eating the leftovers.

The true star of the weekend, though, was the crazy weather. As I've mentioned (over and over again), it snowed for a week straight here. But the roads to Ann Arbor were fine, and by the time I returned to St. Joe, it was raining (gross) and most of the snow melted (boo). Come Sunday afternoon, the blizzard rolled in.

"Let us in! It's cold out here!"

My dad and I ran some errands Sunday, and Brad's anti-lock breaks were working overtime. The snow was so heavy it was hard to see, and we even saw a full-on spin out... Scary. When there was no sign of the snow letting up, and snow was predicted for, well, pretty much everywhere, I started to panic about driving my dad home (and then me driving back here) the next day. So we decided to throw my dad on the train out of New Buffalo (and Rachel was so kind to pick him up at the train station and cart him home), and I'm so glad we made that decision because the drive to NB was a total white out and terrifying. Of course, the train was late, but eventually my dad was on his way home, I was back home, and I could start enjoying the snow again. And guess what? It's still snowing. As always, the kiddos love to play in it, and I love to scope stuff out...

That's pure ice, from one end to the other (including a very iced-over mini lighthouse).

See? 

BTW... I just had to PURCHASE photo storage. Infuriating. But I'm that devoted to making you look at my life... :D
Also btw... The one thing I still can't figure out how to do with the new blogger is to re-center pictures when some weird format gets mysteriously dropped in and shifts them. Double infuriating.