We're going to Branson!

This week has been a blur. Nick had finals Monday-Thursday and I've been doing some commuting to work on a Christmas present (which is really cool, but I can't share until after Christmas in fear that it might wreck the surprise for some family). On Wednesday, we wrapped up our last small group get-together for the season. We did a white-elephant gift exchange. It's always fun to do those, but it's especially interesting when you pull together a bunch of poor college kids. We each brought items that that had been laying around our houses. Nick and I brought a set of red pillar candles, one of the gals brought a half-used bottled of lotion and her old gloves, one of the guys brought one of his old chess sets (complete with missing pieces!), etc. It was pretty funny. We landed the only "new" present- a DVD called Rat Race. Nick claims it's hilarious, though I've never seen it. Go figure, my movie buff husband would find a way to exchange at just the right time so that he got "his movie"!

I'm probably the biggest sugar addict known to man, but if I see anymore sweets I can pass it with confidence. My workplace, like many at this time, is just swarming with goodies donated from other companies. In our logistics department alone (where there are only 6 of us), a full Topsy's popcorn bin as been consumed in less than four hours, along with literally, pounds and pounds of chocolate. I confess, I've aided in this process. I thought it was pretty cool to have all that chocolate at arm's length for the first few days. But by Tuesday evening, I was compelled by guilt to go workout. I happened to chose the worse time to go to the gym, too- when the "Gym Gods" were in full swing. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about--- those guys that look like they live in the gym. The type that carry a milk jug full of water to stay hydrated. It was a sobering experience... trying to walk off all the truffles and caramels in front of these boys that were pumping some serious iron!!! I tried to maintain my composure, like I didn't notice them- although, that's kind of hard to do in a tiny raquet ball room crowded with five of them and then me in the corner. After a half an hour, I'd had enough... but as I went to the car, I realized I'd locked my keys in the car. Since Nick was still undergoing finals during this part of the week, he was majorly stressed (in fact, he was trying to crank out a 22-page paper that particular night). Luckily, he sweetly obliged and came over to help me get into the car. So, I've learned my lesson: no more chocolate-induced, guilt-compelled trips to the gym and store a spare set of keys!!!

Tomorrow, we're going to be heading to Branson. Travis and Lindsay went to Silver Dollar City to see a Christmas Carol and said it was awesome. We have season passes and I'd been wanting to see the show there anyways, so their vote of approval sealed the deal. We'll only be gone for a day and a half, but it's something that we've been looking forward to all week because this will be our first real vacation by ourselves! We've done a few rode trips with family, but we've never actually stayed in a hotel by ourselves or driven to a destination without meeting some other folks there. I personally had a real sense of independence and pride booking the hotel the other day (I know that must sound silly, but it's true). We bought a disposable camera, so I plan on taking pictures to document our first little vacation! I try to post some when we get back.

Adios Joplin! Branson here we come!!!