Mid-MO Weekend

A few highlights from my weekend:

1. Sonic!!!!  Yes, we have one up in Lake Zurich now… but I’m yet to make it.  I grabbed the iced tea on the way to Columbia for my little brother’s Mizzou graduation.  Just a tea- but oh how I miss their crushed ice!!!

2. Quality time spent in my car.  By the end of this weekend- I just wanted to get OUT of it!  And I get to do it all over again next week… Great…  Between my crutch episode (not able to carry hardly anything with those things) and this trip, my front passenger seat looks like a trash bin.  Water bottles and shoes all over the place… (don’t worry- I recycle!)  The trip back up took a little longer than  usual because I hit a mini snow storm outside of Lincoln, IL.  I actually stopped right when it started.  I knew I’d have to take a break if I was going to face slipping and swerving everywhere.  Thoughts of running off the road and dying in a cornfield in the middle of Illinois creeped into my head.  That is certainly not the way I’d prefer to go…

3. My little brother’s all grown up!  And starting law school in the fall… What a smarty pants.  And I’m so proud of him!  Of course, a December graduation is an unfortunate event- it’s SO COLD!!!  We took pictures around campus and my toes were officially frozen by the time we were done. 

4. Mental preparation for Christmas.  I got home on Thursday night and was looking for a little something to fill my tummy since the Subway sandwich I had on the road had disappeared quite some time earlier.  I open the refrigerator to face container after container of Christmas candy.  Oh dear…   I’m trying hard to only eat the seasonal goodies- and to limit myself.  Slow down and think next week, Amy!  Slooooowwww down….

5. Decorating cookies with my mom.  After I found out I’m practically banned from the gym for six weeks, I asked my mom to not send her usual box of cookies to me this year.  The girls at work found out and were very upset.  So, when I was at home, my mom made sugar cookies especially for them, and I helped ice them.  I think they turned out ok- even though Jaime broke at the waist when I picked her up.  It was pretty touch and go for a while, but I glued her back together with chocolate.  Good as new!

6. Semi-reunion in St. Louis with the Columbia kids!!!  It was so great to see everyone- even a couple chicas flew in from Philly!  We went to Side Bar on Washington Avenue.  I’m a big fan of that place because it’s one of the more casual bars in that area.  Plus there were plenty of seats- and I needed to stay off of my leg as much as possible without being too much of a pain in the ass to everyone else.

7. I got back to work to find a Christmas present from my friend Cathryn on my desk!  A mechanical pastry bag from Williams-Sonoma!!!  SUPER EXCITED!  I’ve been talking about how I just need to pick up a cheap one for the next time I make cupcakes.  But this is waaaaayyyy better.  I think she’s counting on my excitement having it will mean more cupcakes in the near future…  Again- another reason I’m going to have to prepare myself mentally for the holiday food goodness!