Now that I'm back in "the real world" and trying to recover from the holidays, I finally have time to blog again. Here's how I rolled for the first real block of time I've had off in years:

1. One glorious week in the OBX. It was cold and raining a lot, but being able to spend holidays at the beach make me so happy. The ocean is beautiful this time of year, the beaches offer solitude, and the pace slows to a crawl.

2. Went to Ocracoke while I was there and it was deserted, which was very nice. Kind of eerie to see how the whole island shuts down for the most part in the winter, but we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and the drive was beautiful. I always like the ferry ride too. Reminds me of doing it in the summer as a kid.

3. Food, glorious food. Shrimp creole, seafood quesadillas, beef wellington, stromboli, fish tacos, mu shu chicken, BLTs made with pork belly... all simple amazing. I love having the time to cook and being able to do it with my mother. I'm no gourmet like she is, but I always enjoy standing in the kitchen together, chopping and chatting and sipping wine.

4. We went light on gifts this year (at least some of us, others didn't get the memo apparently). Wii fit for me (here you go fatass!) and a Coach purse. Kidlet got some new clothes (that she actually likes) and a few fun things. We do gifts pretty well in our family. You never really get anything you don't want but it's not extravagant.

5. I worked on contract for a DC-area firm that does government research work over the holiday to make some extra money. While it still meant I worked, it was cool to be able to do it at home (or in the OBX, as it actually happened) and on my own time. I am hoping that they'll ask me to do more work for them in the future.

6. A week at home with nothing to do! Super Mario Bros., Wii Fit, movies, TV, baking, cooking, and general hanging out was done with the kidlet. Very nice to have real down time for a change. We both needed it, though she was ready to go back to school this week and see her friends.

7. Getting things oriented now that we're back on the regular routine. So tired from having to get up early again (but not being able to sleep at night because I've been up late for two weeks). Eye appointments, dentist appointments, oil changes, all the fun stuff...

8. Classes start for this semester in about a week and a half. Doubling up again this spring, so another tough semester ahead I'm sure. Classes on two different nights instead of back to back on the same night. Commuting twice sucks, but it will be worth it to be home by 8pm on class nights. Still not sure how I'm going to manage the residency year when I have to do two semesters of three classes each, but I'll worry about that later.

9. Looking forward to a real vacation this summer, even if it won't be traveling far away. I have to use at least six vacation days and a floating holiday or I lose them. Nice to have a real excuse to take a vacay!

10. I'm feeling the usual January solitude right now. Maybe it's getting over the holidays, or the cold, wet weather but every year around this time I kind of pull in and hibernate for awhile. It's kind of peaceful really.

That is all.