The Wonderful Weekend

Friday
After the Friday pity-party, I came home and discovered money. I had money to go to New Hampshire with! I called Sherri in New Hampshire and arranged to meet her at her house Saturday afternoon. My spirits lifted not just because I found the money, but because I was going to see one of my really good friends. Though I have only been gone for a few weeks, I am really impatient about making friends. I know I keep mentioning it, but it is a big issue for me, the social butterfly. This week, I am looking into clubs or organizations that may help me out in that area. There is also church. When the winter schedule for community classes comes out, I will sign myself up for a class or two. I need cheap social outlets. I will join the YMCA for swimming, which will also help me physically and mentally. I understand (and am beginning to accept) that I have only been here for a week and it takes time to make friends. I am so use to the pool of friends in California that I can call upon to go do things with and hang out with at any day of the week that this is going to be harder for me to adjust to than the snow. Okay, you snow-livers are probably laughing, saying "Just wait and see, you sheltered Californian!" Enough on that. I have a fabulous weekend to write about.

Saturday
I got up around 8am and putzed around the house for a bit. I was going to my first Weight Watchers meeting in three weeks, and I was sooo hungry. But one of the mental games a W2 person plays is that on weigh-in day, one does not eat before the weigh-in. Needless to say, I was looking forward to getting off the scale. The W2 meeting was at a Catholic church in the north end of Burlington. I had been to the area before which is near Hannaford's grocery store and the $3 theater. The meeting was held in the basement of one of the community rooms on the church campus. There were about 25 people there. I gave them my information packet that the Glendale W2 had let me take with me. They welcomed me warmly. I stepped on the scale and was not suprised at all to have gained 6 lbs. I am really glad it was only 6. I ate pretty crappy on my trip and this past week. It will be good to get back on track with the program. The leader was a really energetic man who enjoys what he does. It was a good meeting. I am looking forward to going this Saturday.

After the meeting, I went back home and packed a few things for the weekend. I think I managed to leave at about 11:30. The drive to New Hampshire was filled with sunshine and clear skies. It was an easy drive down the I-89 to I-93 into New Hampshire. Many of the trees have lost their leaves and it reminded me of the forrests of California during fire season. Only I know these trees are just "sleeping" for the winter. :-) As I was driving, Sherri called and suggested I meet her at her boyfriend Jeff's house in Manchester. It was about 40 miles closer to me than her house. I got to Jeff's place around 2:30. Manchester is one of the biggest towns in New Hampshire. Is it located right off of the 93 Interstate. It was nice getting to know Jeff while I was waiting for Sherri. Then, as if by magic, Sherri appeared. I almost cried when I saw her. I haven't seen her since January. We spent a glassy-eyed moment looking at each other. It was strange to see each other in New Hampshire. We kept talking about that all weekend. We made a trip to Target which is really close to Jeff's house. There isn't a Target in Vermont and I feel that I have been horribly teased by the ads on TV. I bought a scarf/glove set, a rack for the bathroom and a light for my closet. Then we went over to Pier One Imports and Michael's, where I bought some containers for the bathroom rack. It may not sound that exciting to you, dear readers, but for a gal who hasn't stepped foot in one of those stores (which she loves so dearly) in over three weeks, it was really exciting. After we shopped, we went to dinner with Jeff at a Mexican food restaurant. It was suprisingly good. We came back and vegged for a bit before playing a few rounds of Scattegories. It was a pretty perfect day.

Sunday
We woke up some time after 9:30 and slowly got ourselves together. We drove into the French section of Manchester and ate a big brunch at a French cuisine restaurant. It was also very tasty food. Sherri and I split an omlette and waffle (piled high with whipped cream and strawberries. So much for Weight Watchers.) After that, we went to a park that had a big rock then I headed home. The rocks in New Hampshire are big and granite. I was thinking about this while I was driving to and from New Hampshire. I am use to the sedimentary layers of sandstone and not igneous rocks like granite. The granite was a spectacular site to see. I really enjoyed my drive to and from New Hampshire. The weather was superb and the visuals were pretty good, even with the aforementioned vision of dead California trees. I look forward to seeing what it looks like with snow. Sherri has invited me to her sister's house for Thanksgiving, which I am thrilled about. I am still not sure what I will be doing for Christmas. Our company does take the day after Christmas off.

Sunday evening was good. I talked to a few friends and family and watched two good shows. The first one, Extreme Makeover Home Edtion was a real tear-jerker. Really it was. There was a dad and mom who were both deaf who had two boys. The oldest son was hearing normal, whereas the younger son was not only blind, but was also autistic. It was a really wonderful show to watch. The family is so loving and caring. The show not only gave them a bigger house, but it had safety features and accessories to accomodate the family's needs. After that, I saw Desperate Housewives, which is a really fun show. I think I managed to get to bed around 11pm.

Oh, my phone. I called Verizon to check on my minutes and found that I owe them HUNDREDS of dollars that accrued during my trip out here. That means that unless you are with Verizon, I won't be calling you much until I get a land line. It blew me over just how much I owed them. I am calling the phone company this week to find out about rates. Sheesh! I just need to not be so chatty. So emailing me and sending me snail mail is always welcomed.

Tomorrow I have a date with one of my co-workers to check out the chocolate factory during lunch time. I am really excited about that tour. I got coupons for free candy when I stopped at a rest stop on my way back from New Hampshire.

Next weekend, I will be going back to New Hampshire and visiting a friend of my dad's near Stowe Vermont. The Von Trapp Lodge is near there too. The hills are alive....

This weekend was really rejuvenating. I am excited about my second week at work and look forward to learning more each day. Tonight I might be checking out the library on my way home.