Holiday Update

Hi everyone!

Well, after 3 crazy weeks which involved moving out of state, unpacking and organizing our new home, lots of deadlines for me at work, and a surprise visit from my sister, we are finally starting to settle back into a lite routine, just in time for it to (probably) get shaken up again for the holidays! Joy!

For anyone who doesn't know, we moved from a loft in downtown Lowell, Mass, into a 2-story apartment in Portsmouth, NH. So far, we've only been downtown PM a few times, but we've been going for walks along the beach again and are getting to know the area rather quickly. Things are laid out so sensibly around here, we're already down to only using GOS about 50% of the time.

Another cool thing is that there's a private airstrip just across the highway from us, and although there aren't many landings, the flight plan is directly over the skylight in my office. As such, the huge cargo planes, fighter jets and private planes come in at about 500 feet and I can see every detail as they come in. We've also seen some submarines and a GIGANTIC freighter in the harbor downtown. It's a great little town so far :)

Admittedly, we also love the combination of big-box retail and local businesses/restaurants available here. You really can find anything you want or need, from a mom & pop or a corporation, and there's a surprising amount of people out downtown, night after night, cold weather or not.

We had a fantastic time with Amy last weekend. We took her downtown, to the beach, and into Boston for a day, where we explored the USS Cassin Young, the Old North End, Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, the top of the Prudential building, Newbury Street, Cambridge, Harvard Square, Harvard Yard and the financial district for some skyscraper viewing. It was her first ever trip to Boston or New England, so we tried to cram in as much as possible while she was here.

We also took her to Lowell on a cold, rainy Sunday to show her around our old digs, and enjoyed a free holiday photo shoot with Anne Ruthmann at her studio.

So now we can breathe a little bit and prepare for the mad last couple weeks of 2009. It's been another fun-filled, action-packed crazy year for us, and we're looking forward to even more adventures in 2010.

See you on the other side of New Year's!

-Tommy