a new year...

happy new year, everyone! it has been a busy month here. at the beginning of december pete's parents took us and his sister to cirque du soleil (kooza!) in san francisco for christmas. this was the first show for pete and i and it was amazing! we were in the front row...which means we were messed with my the performers a bit and had a little sweat flung our way, but had incredible seats. there was a woman who could lay on her stomach and walk her feet all the way around her head. go ahead...try that one at home!
the day after that outing i headed up to corvallis, oregon, for a conference. The conference was put on by PISCO, which included researchers from 4 west coast schools. since i have either worked or studied with that group for the last 10 years, it was great to see so many wonderful people. i also got to catch up with some friends who are still in corvallis, which was great.
as soon as i got back from oregon, pete and i took a short weekend and went to yosemite. we did some hiking and a bit of snowshoeing but missed the big snows by a couple of days. we stayed at a really cool little resort outside the park that cooked great food and had a wonderful sauna/hot tub facility.


and then...i had to move...to nowhere. after 7 weeks of searching, cassie and i are still homeless. i have been able to stay in pete's room since he is away, but it is not a long term solution because cassie is not supposed to be here. cass is utterly confused, but has been a champion of going with the flow. the longest we have been in one place since the 21st is three days. being settled would be lovely... i have to tell you all this because it paints a beautiful picture of what house searching has been like. a couple weeks ago i had two days of searching that set the bar at a new level. day 1 - living with a 50 year old man and his 78 year old mother. i am sure they are really nice people but...psycho anyone?? day 2 - bitten by chihuahua in the morning and dinner with a registered sex-offender in the evening. cool, eh?
christmas was wonderful. we spent three days with pete's family in oakland. we had family friend christmas, immediate family christmas, and extended family christmas. it was nice to relax for a few days and forget about housing and everything else for a bit. unfortunately for me, pete had to get on a plane in the early morning on the 26th. he is now sailing the seas around antarctica in his yearly gig as a marine technician for the u.s. antarctic program. he'll be there until mid-february and then we'll meet in peru for a two week adventure. his absence is especially felt this year as it feels like the only stability in my life is now thousands of miles away. however, as friends continue to trickle back into town from the holidays my days get a little brighter.
i hope all of you enjoyed family and friends over the holidays!