"Home... home is where you wear your hat..."*

So, Bryant and I are back in Minneapolis after quite a lot of traveling and the having of good times. We spent Christmas and the next week at my parents' in the desert; Christmas day (shown here) was 72 degrees and sunny, and the day we left was 78 and similarly beautiful.

One highlight of the California time (and also accentuated by sunshine) was the Rose Parade New Year's Day in Pasadena. My cousins make a tradition of going--reserving seats on the same corner, where you can see both the front, side, and back of the float, 24 hours in advance and then guarding them until parade time--but I don't even recall having watched it on TV. It was pretty spectacular.

After California, we drove north, hitching a ride with Bryant's mom in Vancouver to the Wonders' apartment in Bellingham. Saturday we went snow-shoeing (my first time) at Mt. Baker with their puffball of a new puppy, Sebastian. Sunny and Colleen taught me how to crochet; here Sunny is modeling one of the Seuss-esque mittens that evolved from these newfound skills.

Colleen dropped Bryant and I off on the trip south so that we could spend some time with my siblings, and the next morning the two of us took the train from Tacoma to Vancouver. I'm totally sold. We got a deal on our tickets (less than $30 for both of us), so it cost only a little more than driving. Plus, the views were better, there was more leg room, there was no driving stress, and we could get up and walk around. Brilliant.

After Vancouver, we drove to Walla Walla and stayed at Teri's inimitable bed-and-breakfast. Ted and Heather introduced us to their cat Penelope, Guitar Hero, and Terry Pratchett, among other things.

The next morning we headed east, stopping in Caldwell to see the Kings' house and animals and then dining with them in Boise. We spent the night with Tammy and Carissa, and the next day went snowboarding at Bogus Basin. I had more fun than was good for me... and my bruises have mostly healed.

The next two days, we just drove. Montana and North Dakota are two incredibly long states--and I was glad Bryant drove through the majority of the snow we encountered. We arrived in Minneapolis at about 10:30 Saturday night.

There were no classes today, but tomorrow it all starts back up again. Last night it snowed about four inches, and today's high was eleven degrees. I keep trying to remind myself that I love art history, that I love being in school, that I actually generally enjoy the Twin Cities, and that I chose this punishment path. I'm afraid I'm going to have to start running again, though, to make it through this winter, which is a daunting prospect indeed.

I feel spoiled after getting to see so many great people, eating so much delicious food, and getting so much sleep and sunshine over the past few weeks--and, predictably, I haven't had enough. Hopefully, it will be enough to get me through.

P.S. I straightened my hair over break, and since I didn't include any pictures last time, I'm posting this one, which is unfortunately the best I've got. This photo, along with all the others here, is courtesy of Bryant.

* "...I feel so breakup, I wanna go home. "