Gouda's Cheesewheel

Black Friday Weekend o' craziness

This weekend (Thanksgiving and after) has been rather busy.

On Thursday (Thanksgiving proper) we had at least 3-4 invitations. We decided to keep it simple and attend the two events that were geographically near one another: Brent's Aunt Candy in Wellington and my grandparents in Loveland. Candy's meal was planned for 1PM and the other was at 2, so we really could only eat at one or the other. We decided it made the most sense to eat the earlier dinner and then stop by and say hi at the other one, and maybe score some dessert. As it turned out this worked out nicely. We even got the chance to announce our engagement to the grandparents (Sallie kept prodding us till one of us got the gumption to say it). Brent's family had practically all known already, as he had given his mother permission to spread the word when we first told her the news. My parents did not take this liberty, so it was nice to have a comfortable setting to tell my grandparents. I plan to tell the rest of my family in our first official Christmas letter this year.

Thursday night we relaxed with a bath and video games, respectively, and then did a post-feast workout to ease our consciences. We'll have to make sure to keep up a good routine of this if we are to stay in shape through the winter. It's a good motivation to think that we'll probably be climbing a mountain or two next year, so we need to be prepared.

Friday we did some shopping, but not in the sense that most people did that day. Since we had just about all of our Christmas presents purchased already, we had no need for mall shopping (which was just as well, as neither of us care for crowded malls anyway). Our destination was the South Broadway antique district to find an engagement/wedding ring for me. We had a quick but tasty lunch at the Spicy Pickle, then headed down a block or two in search of antique rings. The first few stores mainly dealt in furniture, but eventually we came to a place that had a few rings on hand, and they suggested another place to try. The store they referred carried a better (and more expensive) selection, and we managed to find at least one other dealer that specialized in jewelry, as well as several that carried a limited selection alongside fine silver dishes and the like. At the last store we visited, we found a great deal on a necklace and brooch, so Brent made a small indulgence on these for my Christmas present. Friday night we were quite worn out from shopping, so Brent played video games and I started putting up Christmas decorations and watched Brokeback Mountain, which I'd rented.

Saturday we headed down to Larimer Square in search of another antique jeweler we'd been referred to: Victoriana. This one definitely carried some of the prettiest items I'd seen so far, but it was also a bit pricey, so we had to think on it. While downtown I picked up some stationary from Office Depot to print Christmas letters, and we picked up groceries. In the evening Brent had plans to game with friends, so I had him drop me off at Jenn's apartment, where we spent the evening concocting white chocolate fondue, watching Indiana Jones, and poring over ice cream recipes. It was a fun time with my Jenn, who I don't get to see too often these days.

Sunday we had plans to visit Brent's grandma Daphin. We joined her for brunch, then looked at old pictures of Brent and his family and watched a recording of a ventriloquist she had seen in Vegas. We also helped move some items out of her closet so shelves could be added. On the way home I talked Brent into stopping at Cherry Creek Mall, which we regretted a little once we realized how crowded it would be. I had hoped to find inexpensive rings (cubic zirconia or gems) at the department stores, but when Macy's failed to deliver, we peeked into a few jewelry stores and then gave up (frankly, the designs were the same as the antiques we'd found, at twice the price or more!) In the evening we had planned to spend time with Matt and Liisa, but they were just as exhausted as we were, so it was a night at home for all of us. I managed to get in a second short workout (one in the morning, one in the evening) to make up for missing Friday and Saturday. It wasn't too bad, but after dinner I was quite ready for bed.

This week I've compiled a whole list of things to do in addition to applying for jobs, so I'll be quite busy for a while.

posted by Greta @ 1:29 PM