Holiday Time Off

Friday, December 21st was my last working day until Wednesday, January 2nd.  I tried the whole staycation thing last July and it didn't go so well due to timing so I thought I'd try it again.  While I liked my time off and am still enjoying it, I'm not sure I'm cut out for it.  I like a day off here and there but I think extended time off will be used to actually go on a vacation.

So what I have I done?

Wednesday the 26th:

I woke up at 6:30 am and laid in bed for 4 1/2 hours before I actually got out of it.  I wish I would have been sleeping during that time but relaxing worked too.  I got up and hit the 11:50 am showing of Silver Linings Playbook.  It had good reviews and I don't regret seeing it but I'm not sure it's as good as I read it was.

Afterwards, I went shopping.  Those gift cards from Christmas were burning a hole in my pocket.  I started at Kohl's where I bought two pairs of earrings.  The top pair of earrings in the picture were a pair I was admiring from one of the ads and I couldn't stop thinking about them.

Next I went to Forever 21 where I bought some more jewelry.  

Finally, I went to Marshall's and bought a banana holder, some measuring spoons, an organizer for spices and some decorative balls to put inside a bowl I already had.

Thursday the 27th:

I met my friend Justin on a snowy night on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis at The News Room for a glass of wine and some appetizers.  We had margarita flatbread, tres hummus and the best smoke cauliflower with curry aioli and tart cherries.  So.Good.  

Friday the 28th:

I went to my uncle's house in Wisconsin.  He was going to replace my brakes in my car, which I bought exactly 10 years ago this day. I bought a bunch of parts and got there about 12:30 pm since I had to wait to pick up some parts as they were ordered and wouldn't be ready until 11:45 pm.  We had a quick lunch and then he started to work on my brakes.  There were more parts that were needed and none of the Wisconsin stores had them so we had to order them from MN and then drive back over at 4:30 pm.  Long story short, my brakes didn't get done that night.  I did get to spend some time with their fuzzy babies; Rosey, Mosely and Bobbi.

My uncle let me take his car overnight. I drove directly from his house to Plymouth, MN to a visitation.  One of my good friend's dad passed away on Christmas.  There are many similarities to our families, dads, cancer, age of death, even some the words written in each of the programs of the visitation/memorial service are the same. RIP, Marty.

Saturday the 29th:

My uncle Ken finished my brakes in the morning and I went over there to pick it up early afternoon.  He's by far the handiest guy I know and he said it was the worst brake job he's ever done.  My dad has said the same thing in the past and didn't even get as deep as Ken did.  My type of car has been known for bad brake systems.  Now that everything is fixed and all good with three new rotors, pads and a couple of new calipers, I feel like I might just hang onto this car for another year or two.

While on my way home, I had to stop for some New Glarus beer for a friend as we can't get it in Minnesota and found these at the store.  Are these in MN too?  I had to get them to try them.  They taste very similar to Cool Ranch.  Has anyone had them?  Just wondering if they are some funky Wisconsin thang.

On my way back and forth and back and forth from MN to WI, I saw many turkeys, including a dead one.  I never get sick of seeing these goofy birds.

I spent the majority of the rest of the day cleaning my computer room and purging all things old and unwanted.  I made very good headway today and will continue tomorrow and/or Monday with hopes of completion on or before New Year's Day.

I finished the night watching Moonrise Kingdom.  Have you seen it?  What did you think?  I liked it but keeping in mind it's a Wes Anderson movie and sometimes they can be lost on the general public.  The movie itself went by incredibly fast.  The movie is nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy).