Finally back to posting! We had a wonderful New Year's Weekend, as you can see from the photos below. Kevin totally surprised me with a weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks at a bed and breakfast called the Gardenhouse. My first B&B! It was gorgeous and fabulous. We got to relax and watch beautiful sunsets and sunrises. We also went for an awesome hike at HaHa Tonka State Park. That means "Laughing Water," get it? HaHa, laughing. Tonka, water. It is a great park. We went to JB Hook's for dinner on New Year's Eve and it was so busy we had to wait for an hour and a half. But it was really good, and it was fun to watch all of the people cabitzing. When we got back to our weekend home, Lill had cleaned up our room (we left a mess!) and she had also left us delicious chocolates. We drank champagne and watched the ball drop. Kevin beat me at UNO and also at Mastermind. He is the Mastermind for sure. Not me. It was a beautiful weekend full of fun and excitement. I have the best boyfriend in the world! He's the sweetest. We decided that now we are B&B people. It is so much better than staying at a hotel!

Uncle Bob and Cousin Fritz (the German Short-Haired Pointer) stopped by to visit. We went to La Bodega and had some delicious tapas and then ventured around the Plaza to show Unlce Bob the lights. Then we played Trivial Pursuit late into the evening. It was quite lovely.

I am still working on my Italian, although it is a slow process. I have been worrying about the trip more and more. I really need to get packing. It is so nice to not be working, but I need to get my butt in gear. It is very difficult to get things done when you wake up at 11. I will work on that. I went out to lunch today with Tracy and Chelsea. Chelsea brought pictures from my Bon Voyage party. They were nice. I am going to miss everyone! I am planning on going to visit the people at AMP once before I depart.