tis the season

you guys!

i spent last week in grapevine, texas, aka christmas hell. i wish i had taken pictures because everything around me was decorated in high christmas fashion i.e. 50 foot tall white christmas tree, human sized gingerbread house, oil rig lined with christmas lights, and lots of The Grinch everywhere. to top it all off, the resort was actually a big climate-controlled dome, and you never even had to leave the building. so for 4 days i stayed in one building, never breathing real air. it was awesome - and now i can tell everyone i've lived in a christmas dome for a week before. face.

next topic: over the weekend, for the first time in life ever, i went to mt. vernon! they have candlelight christmas tours of the grounds and the house and holy moly it was increible. really got me in the christmas spirit, and plus TH and i did some old fashioned dancing, just like mr. darcy and elizabeth (not that i was imagining the one scene in pride and prejudice when we were dancing). you dance in groups of four, and my partner on the other side was a 16 year old boy who wouldn't look me in the eye or touch my hand when you were supposed to do the flat palm hand-touch dance move. it made me feel bad about myself at the time, but thinking back on it - maybe he was just trying to be a gentleman, or maybe he had swine flu. so thanks 16 year old boy. oh yeah and we went with TH's family and after the tour we went out for sunday desserts (i can get behind a family that goes out for sunday desserts!) and i picked the place, which happened to be a pub (read: bar), and that didn't go over so well with the parentals. you know, family sunday special night...in a bar? what was i thinking?! ahh well, you live and learn.

and closing story: TH is FAMOUS and you can find him on youtube talking about sciencey things (so cute so cute), and we were watching it the other day for the first time and here's how the story goes: we watch the video and afterwards TH turns to me and says "wow, is it me or do i look cooler on this video?" well, you be the judge. man, he is funny funny (and TH, you are just as cool in real life, especially when we do nothing but talk about energy policy for 2 hours at dinner.)

it's good to be back home!!