Numbers Monday

• it's been 6 days since I was in lab. I've been working from home, trying to write and photoshop and all that good stuff. It's amazing how much less stressed I feel.
• I purchased 7 Christmas gifts this past weekend. I found something my mom will love on sale for nearly 50% off. I also found some good deals on some other things both my parents and Alex's parents will (hopefully) love and all those have been ordered and are heading my way soon.
• I ordered nearly 100 "save the date" cards for our wedding. When I received them, they looked WAY different from what our sample looked like. Turns out the printer wasn't aligned properly, so the colors in the ink didn't overlap correctly. Our cards look kinda like we were going for a 3-D effect. I'm glad I ordered early, since they'll be shipping me a new set hopefully today.
• This past weekend, we watched four movies, including Capitalism: A Love Story, The Soloist, The Family Stone, and When Harry Met Sally. Alex also watched some move involving Chuck Norris and terrorist ninjas. Can you tell we're both battling colds? No 35 mile bike rides for us, let me tell you!
• On Thanksgiving, we biked through the horrendous rain and sleet to our friend's house for dinner. We spent the evening with 3 friends and 3 new friends, eating copious amounts of food. We then proceeded to play a lively round of Trivial Pursuit from circa 1981. A lovely time was had by all.
• Today, I went to the dentist at 7am and he told me I have one cavity, which I will go get filled soon. Let me tell you what a pleasant experience I had. I used to go to the Penn Dental School, where each appointment would last at least 2 hours, if not more. I have had several fillings done and then re-done there, most of the time requiring extra doses of novicaine just to get through the 3 hour procedure. I never had the same student more than two or three times, and I was always on the edge of my seat with anxiety at having to go there. This year, our insurance switched, so I am able to go to a real dentist with real skills. I cannot tell you how thankful and pleasant my experience was. I was in and out in 1 hour, having my teeth cleaned and X-rays done and an exam. I even received a prescription for my sensitive teeth and a primer on flossing and brushing from my super awesome technician. Wow. It's amazing the difference in experiences! I'm almost excited to go back in a couple weeks to get my fillings done. Almost.
• On Saturday, I ventured into the city for the day, heading down to City Hall via the 48 bus. Lucky me, the ticket taking machine was broken, so I got not one, but two free bus rides, since I managed to catch the same bus on the way back home. I am pretty confident that will never happen again!
• This morning, at 6:30am, it was a frosty 30 degrees. There was frost everywhere, which was really lovely to see. I was also a bit of a cold bike ride, but I'm not complaining. Having the dentist visit out of the way by 8am was priceless.
• And now, I'm settling in to work on my paper and my figures. We've put up the tree and several strings of lights and I am listening to some instrumental Christmas music. A hopefully lovely Monday awaits!