A Day in Hanna's World

Relaxed Weekend

Not too bad of a week and a pretty relaxed Sunday at home.  Yesterday I had a dentist appointment and another one tomorrow but other than that not too much going on. Today we slept in and then had a late breakfast at Elmer's (local diner). Now home catching up with some letters, emails and other stuff around the house.

Also made fried rice (a healthier make-at-home version) this afternoon. Will be good to take to work for lunch during the week. Was pretty happy with the outcome, tastes yummy.  :) Now on the couch drinking tea and surfing the web. The cats are all here too, asleep and curled up next to us. 

Next week Wednesday we have tickets to see David Garrett in New Jersey. Looking forward to the show. We have third row tickets so should be good. :) We are staying overnight in Morristown. It's about a two hour ride so will make it easier to stay overnight and drive to work in the morning. 

Mail update: Letters going out tomorrow to: Lotte/Denmark. Received letters from/owe replies to: Nina/WA, Emilia/Finland, Nicki/OZ and Tiffany/OK.

First real snow of the season

... well not including the massive storm back in October that dumped over a foot of snow on us (but that was technically still in the fall) This storm on Saturday ended up with about six inches of snow, not that bad. Plus tomorrow it's supposed to be pretty warm so I have a feeling that a lot of it is going to melt and turn into a big mess. Oh well, what can you do? Can't control the weather. 

This weekend turned out pretty ok. Had to go into work on Saturday because of the snow but at least we were able to leave by 1:30. Relaxed at home for a bit and then had an early dinner at Rizzuto's where they always seem to have great snow deals (2 for 1 dinner entrees etc.) Had a yummy dinner, then headed home and caught up  on some of our shows. Today was a pretty relaxed day too. Slept in, then had a great breakfast at Elmer's Diner, grocery shopping and now home relaxing, writing letters, answering emails, etc. 

In a little while we will have some dinner (cheese+crackers) and wine and catch up on some more of our shows.  Then tomorrow it's already Monday again. Let's see what this week brings. Hopefully should be fairly uneventful but you never know of course. 

Mail update: Letters going out tomorrow to: Caroline/Scotland, Charles/TN and Carmen/Malta. Received letters from/owe replies to: Emilia/Finland, Nicki/OZ, Lotte/Denmark and Tiffany/OK.

Golden Globes Weekend

Trying to post my weekly update and trying to convince Oliver not to sleep on my lap for a second. I am using my netbook and am on the couch and up until now he was on my lap while I was writing letters but I can't really type and have him on my lap at the same time. Ok, I think he finally got the hint and curled up next to me. Cutie kittie. :) 

It's been a pretty relaxing weekend. Yesterday (Sat) I worked but after work we were invited over to a friend's house for a small get-together. Had some yummy food (appetizer of baguette topped with roasted peppers & portobello mushroms&brie, then scallops, roasted potatoes with rosemary&garlic&parmesan, pasta and asparagus) and wine. Today we went out for lunch to the Little Pub in Ridgefield. Then afterwards we went grocery shopping and now at home relaxing. Wrote a couple of letters and later we are going to watch the Golden Globes. Looking forward to that. Also going to catch up on a couple of shows before that I think. Bought some camembert cheese + baguette to have while watching the show. 

Not too much else new at the moment. Work's been about the same,nothing too new. Almost mid-January already again, time is definitely flying. Last year at this time we were getting ready for our Australia trip. It's been really cold this weekend so that would sound very appealing at the moment. :)

Mail update: Letters going out tomorrow to: Celia/MA and Saya/Japan. Received letters from/owe replies to: Caroline/Scotland, Charles/TN and Emilia/Finland .

Rockapella & Relaxed weekend

And 2012 is already moving along quickly already. This past week was kind of annoying at work but then it's always the same when the schools come back after vacation. At least we had the weekend off which was nice. Saturday we slept in late, then around 3pm we headed down to NYC to see Rockapella. Beforehand we had some food and drinks at an Irish pub. Then saw the show which was good as always (we have probably seen them live 5-6 times now) and afterwards had a couple more drinks and some chips & salsa at Chevy's. They had happy hour when we got there (around 9.30pm) and the margaritas were only $5. Not a bad deal for Times Square at all. 

Today, Sunday, slept in again, then went grocery shopping. Spent the afternoon taking down the Christmas decorations (the house looks so empty now) and rearranging some things. Made some asparagus soup and surfed the web for a bit. Pretty relaxed weekend. Can't complain. 

Let's see what next week brings. I am looking forward to see David Garett live on February 1st which is less than a month away now. I bought those tickets such a long time ago and it felt like it would never come. Definitely can't wait. 

Mail update: Letters went out on Tuesday to: Nicki/OZ and Celia/MA. Received letters from/owe replies to:  Sayaka/Japan.

Happy New Year's from New Hampshire/Maine

Happy New Year's from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It's a pretty dreary rainy day today but that's ok. Was the perfect weather to sleep in. Going to have lunch in a bit at the Coat and Arms British pub, then going to head over to York, Maine to go to the Stonewall Kitchen store and to see the lighthouse there. After that we will head back and see what time it is. We have dinner reservations at Mombo at Strawberry Banke at 7pm. Should be a delicious dinner hopefully. :)

Yesterday we left Danbury around 7:30am, stopped in New Hampshire at one of their massive liquor stores they have right off the highway (no sales tax-yay). Got a couple of bottles of wine and a bottle of sparkling rose for New Year's. Then headed to Kennebunkport, Maine for lunch. As always Federal Jack's was great, yummy lunch. Afterward we headed back to New Hampshire and checked in at our bed and breakfast in Portsmouth. Relaxed in the room for a bit and then walked into the town center for an early dinner. Had some yummy food at the Portsmouth brewery and then some wine at the Black Trumpet wine bar.

Tomorrow it's already time to go back home again. Can't believe it's already 2012 tomorrow. Hope all of you have a great New Year's and a great start to 2012. Anybody have any New Year's resolutions? Mine are the same as always. Lose some weight, try to work on our backyard, cook more at home, exercise more. Yeah, we will see how that goes. :)

Mail update: Letters going out soon to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Jessica/DE. Received letters from/owe replies to: Nicki/OZ, Celia/MA and Sayaka/Japan.

Christmas Post

Merry belated Christmas every one. :) Hope you all had a nice holiday. Mike & I worked on the 24th but were able to leave around 4pm which wasn't so bad. Plus it was a pretty quiet day. When we got home we arranged our small Christmas Eve feast (brie & baguette, shrimp cocktail, brocooli & ranch dip, pepperjack cheese & crackers and some wine) and caught up on the rest of our shows. Had a nice relaxing night. 

Yesterday on the 25th we slept in a little and then opened our gifts with Mike's sister, niece and nephew. Lots of nice gifts. Some fun stuff from around the world including tea, stationery, body spray, soap, ornaments, hand warmers, etc. Both Mike & Kristina got me boxes of sausage/salami and cheese (one from Hickory Farms and one from I Gourmet) :) So I am all set in that department for a little while now. And Mike also got me tickets to see the Kooks in Cincinnati, Ohio on 2/29. Very cool. :)

In the afternoon Mike & I went over to our friend Tim's house and had lots more food and wine. A very enjoyable relaxing afternoon talking, eating and drinking. The holidays definitely seem to make people stuff their faces. :) But there is always January to go on a diet right?

This week it's back to normal and back to work again. But at least it's just a four day week for us since we are going to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for New Year's on Friday. Looking forward to a weekend away from home, just to relax. :) Will be nice. Can't believe it's almost 2012 already now. Where has this year gone?

Mail update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Nicki/OZ, Lotte/Denmark, Jessica/DE and Charles/TN.

NYC Christmas Weekend

One more week until Christmas. Time definitely flies.

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment at 9am which wasn't much fun (not a big fan of dentists). But afterwards we went to New York which is always fun. I love seeing the city at Christmas time, the decorations on 5th Ave, Rockefeller Center, the tree with the skating rink. They also have a pretty Christmas market type place at Bryant Park (right by the NYC Library) with a skating rink and a neat restaurant/bar. Having said all that the one part I don't like about NY at Christmastime are the crowds. But we did our usual loop, saw all the Christmas stuff and then went to Chevy's in Times Square for some yummy food and margaritas. They have this delicious cranberry margarita in December that I really like. Had yummy shrimp fajitas and lots of chips and salsa.

Today we had a pretty relaxed day too. Slept in late, then met up with a few friends in the afternoon. Our friend John just came back from a 2 month trip South America so it was great to catch up with him and hear some of his travel stories. Definitely jealous of all the amazing places he went. :) But definitely just adds to the places I want to go. My travel list definitely never gets any shorter. :)

Mail update: A letter is going out tomorrow to: Celia/MA. Received letters from/owe replies to: Lotte/Denmark, Jessica/DE and Charles/TN.

And it's Monday again

And it's already Monday again. Time flies. Last week was fairly uneventful, the usual stuff at work. Managed to take half a day off (Wednesday afternoon) so that was nice. Worked all day Saturday and then went to the movies with a friend at night. Sunday we met our friend Tim for lunch and hung out for a while (the place we went to had $5 pizza and happy hour specials so it ended up being a great deal), then watched some TV shows in the evening.

This week is looking fairly normal at the moment too. Need to get working on the Christmas school break and contact a bunch of the school systems to set up deliveries so they are covered for when they return from their break. Dragging my feet on it at the moment because I really hate doing it. But won't be able to procrastinate much longer.

Making some plans for the upcoming summer next year at the moment. I usually try to go see my parents in Austria over the summer. Working on some travel ideas alongside that for this summer. Don't want to post about the details just yet in case it falls through. Don't want to jinx it. :)

Mail update: A letter went out to: Nina/WA on Thursday. And letters are also going out to: Carmen and Eunice/Malta. Received letters from/owe replies to: Celia/MA and Charles/TN.

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

 ... Christmas. I don't even know where this year has gone. Only three weeks until Christmas. Spent the day decorating today. Happy to say that all my decorations around the house including the tree are now up. :)

Yesterday we spent the day running some errands, taking care of some other things and today focused on the decorations. Was able to get everything done and set up. Happy with the tree. We went for white lights this year and put up a combination of our and Kristina's decorations on the tree. Came out pretty.

Click here if you want to see a picture of my little Christmas village.

Also all done with my Christmas shopping for the most part. Just need to pick up a couple gift cards and also need to wrap everything. But I am hesitant to put anything under the tree with all the cats around so the wrapping might not happen until Christmas Eve. We will see.  

What are everyone's plans for Christmas and New Year's? We will be spending New Year's at a bed and breakfast in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Not sure about Christmas. We will definitely be home in the morning opening our gifts with Mike's sister and kids. Will figure out the rest of the day later.

Mail update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Eunice/Malta and Nina/WA

Christmas Mail

As you can see in the picture I have been busy writing my Christmas cards and of course the cats have been a great help (or so they think anyway I am sure) I finished my international card batch on Sunday and my domestic US/Canada cards yesterday, Tuesday. Also packaged up all my gifts that need to be mailed. Hopefully we can make it to the post office tomorrow or Friday and get all that mailed out.

Haven't put up any decorations around the house yet but I figure I will do that this weekend. One of my staff members decorated everything up at the office really nice so been surrounded by it at work since Friday last week. Should get to it at home over the weekend.

Work's been steadily busy which is about normal for this time of the year. Ready for another vacation but we won't get a break until New Year's when we have our 2-night B&B getaway in New Hampshire. Definitely looking forward to that. 

Mail update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Eunice/Malta and Nina/WA