1. It was nice working in an office for a week… Working from home is a sweet gig.  I can take conference calls in my PJ’s, and when I have an early morning, all I need to do is roll out of bed and walk five feet down the hall.  Even so, I sometimes miss being in an office environment, miss sticking my head in somebody’s office rather than having to email or call to get their attention.  Working alone, at home, is isolating.  I think the week helped us all feel a little bit closer.

2 … And even nicer coming home.  It’s been almost a week, and Z is still talking about her mama going away on a ferry boat. She’s also been a Velcro baby since I got back. Which is fine, because I think I missed her almost as much as she missed me. Not to mention that although A and I can handle long distance, we don’t much like it.

3. It snows in Salt Lake City.  Who knew?  As both my husband and sister pointed out, apparently the 2010 Winter Olympics Committee.  I chose SLC as my stopover point figuring there was less chance of having weather-related delays than if I went through Minneapolis.  My first inkling that this may not have been the wisest choice was the captain of my DCA to SLC flight saying, “Folks, if you noticed we’ve been zig-zagging over Wyoming, it’s because it’s snowing in Salt Lake and they’re alternating runways to keep them ploughed.”  I’ve got to give it to the folks at that airport, though.  They’ve got their act together.  Ultimately, I was only delayed about an hour.

4. My solution to stress-free gift giving. A and I have very different ideas about gift giving and the holidays. He likes surprises; I’d rather make a list. This has led to no end of frustration on my part, as I find it impossible to get him to tell me what he wants. This year, I tried something different: I bought him “A flavored” stuff that I liked and wanted. Stress-free, it was rather enjoyable.  Here’s hoping he likes what he gets as much as I do.

5. Happy birthday to me!  I turned 33 this week. It was a pretty low-key day. Normally A and I divide and conquer on the weekends – I get Z and he gets the to do list. It’s efficient, but we don’t get to spend as much time together as I would like. For my birthday, I asked if we could have a day with the three of us. We took Z up to Scandia and chased her around the gerbil tunnels. It was terrifically fun.  When A asked her at the end of the night if she had a good day, she said “tunnels.”  So I think that counts as a success.

Closing Tabs

I thought planes were one of those things that are too large to misplace, but someone has left three at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. Airport management posted the lost and found notice in a local newspaper, proving that not all weird stuff ends up on Craigslist.

One of the best things about working from home is not having to wear a bra every day.

I’m intrigued by this pen and paper subscription service. Judging by the number of sold out items on the page, a bunch of other people are too.  I’m looking forward to the not-so-distant day when handwriting is an art form and paper is a luxury good.

Working at a British shop has turned me into an unapologetic tea drinker.  I’ve been using Tea Gschwendner for a bit, but T2 is now delivering to the US and the internet is pretty excited about it. Fellow tea drinkers: what’s your go to?

I’ve not yet managed to bring my camera on any of the business trips I’ve taken over the past year, largely due to luggage/space issues.  This tote looks like the perfect solution: there’s room for a laptop and an SLR.

Happy holidays everyone.  May your Christmases be full of good food (Chinese food, in the case of all my Jewish friends) and the people you love.