The weather here has been so weird lately. Just last week we got three feet of snow, and after a week of digging out (although not completely), we got another two feet of snow. We're back up to the levels we were before, with some piles almost 5 feet high. I love snow...it's so beautiful....but this is just ridiculous.

I didn't go into the office today - almost everything is closed, and the grocery stores are running out of food - but A and I worked on some grant stuff and then spent some very yummy intimate time together. I am such a lucky girl.

I haven't written much here lately, so let's see what I should highlight:

• A and I went to a holiday party at Matt and Mare's house on the Saturday before Christmas. Lots of folks there I haven't seen in a while. The party was so great - it was the first time in three years that I've walked into a room with these people and realized - they're my people. They don't just put up with me because I know A, but they're my friends, my family. It seems so obvious now, but I think I've kept myself distanced from so many wonderful people...Shannon, Adina, Whitney, even Matt and Mare. So nice to connect.
  
• Christmas Eve, A and I went to Buena Vista to spend the night at Cottonwood Hot Springs, which has been our favorite for a while...but I think we're both ready to find a new favorite. In any case, the night was so clear and the stars so visible and bright. I saw at least three shooting stars while soaking in hot mineral spring water. Ahhhhhh. Christmas Day we left the Inn and stopped by the AU ranches before coming home to see who of A's old friends we could meet. We were looking for Phil and Debbie, but Debbie was skiing and Phil's flight had been cancelled because of the snow storms.
• I got the most thoughful and fun gifts for the holiday. D gave me copies of Dune and The Lord of the Rings, his two favorite science fiction novels. I haven't read either one, so it was a good gift. A gave me a copy of the collected works of Kahlil Gibran, the Audrey Hepburn book I was drooling over in New York, and the World Changing book, which I'm very excited to dive into. He also gave me some yummy ginger-orange-mint tea and delicious dark chocolate caramels. My mother gave me a cool pair of jeans and a shirt. Yay for just a few presents that were perfect!

Everything is cancelled tonight, so we'll see what this weekend brings. I hope to get some hang out time in with my mom and D - although, D is stuck in Amarillo (where he is visiting his mom), and I'm not sure when they'll be able to come back. Crazy snow.