planes, trains and automobiles: the prologue

Today, the cold I've been avoiding so desperately finally caught up with me. Ugh. I'm achy and sniffly and sore-throaty and yuck. And as always, the only week I need desperately not to get sick is this one. Immune systems can be vindictive little buggers, can't they?

So I'm bundled up under my down comforter, contemplating whether I need to go get my hat to insulate myself, and waiting for my Lemsip to kick in (Lemsip is amazing, by the way. It's like TheraFlu, but it actually works). And I'm totally unable to believe that (despite my current despair at my essay's current state of affairs) come this time next week, my assignments will be done--okay, or nearly done-- my classes will be over, and I'll be packing up for a whirlwind vacation.

And I really do mean "whirlwind." Next Tuesday, I'll hop on a bus to Edinburgh, where I'll meet up with Greg. From there, we'll catch the train to London. Then, we've got 2 glorious days of sightseeing...and I hear there's an excellent Christmas market on at Hyde Park for which I'm totally stoked. (Hear that family? I'm stoked for the Christmas market. The Christmas cheer I'm exuding this year is almost unbearable).

Then it's a (mercifully direct) flight from London to DC, and a day with his family before my own mom swoops down from NYC to pick me up! At this point, my incredibly jet-lagged self will hop in her car, drive down to Williamsburg, see some friends, yah de yah (SO PUMPED :))---

At which point we will collect my sister (who's driving up from South Carolina) and my brother (if he's not just staying in LA) and commence an epic cross-country road trip!

Yep. Cross-country road trip.

It's a long story, but to sum up, we didn't really have a place for our family to be at Christmas, so we opted for Tahoe. Because when in doubt, go to your happy place, right? And Tahoe most certainly is our happy place.

I'm going to cease the litany of transportation to note just how THRILLED I am to be spending Christmas in Tahoe: snow on the pine trees (well, maybe), a warm fire, and people I love sitting on the couch beside me?! What could be better?

So, even while my brain is fried and my immune system is sputtering out and it's mostly dark all the time, there's definitely a light at the end of the tunnel....Although in this analogy, I'd say its more of a crazy, multi-colored strobe light that might cause some kind of a stroke....But hey. Seems like the makings of a party to me :)