update!

Sorry, glob fans, for that extended absence. I blame, in this order, the holidays, the altitude, and the shock of suddenly not being grossed out by the government. Also I've been traveling a lot. School ended in mid-December (so now I have a big fancy expensive degree in a dying field, hooray!), and from NYC I flew to Stockholm to rescue my mom from the Swedish holidays.

My first night in town, we visited the Creepy Doll & Potato Hospital:



After which we needed to cheer ourselves up, so we scoped out the xmas window displays at NK. NK is a huge department store and a Stockholm landmark, and its holiday window displays are usually over-the-top animatronic craziness, but apparently they too have felt the impact of the recent economic downturn:



For xmas eve itself, Mom and Mormor and I drove up to Härnösand, north of Sundsvall, to hang out with Aunt Kristina and Captain Joe the Singing Sailor. I took some video of the singing at the dinner table which I'll upload when I figure out how to do it without breaking the internet.

After Sweden I spent a couple of days in Colorado at my parents' house. Their front yard has been infested with dog-sized horses. These things are vicious and terrifying -- check it out:


Mom and Natalie could barely restrain this one from attacking an innocent child:


Here's the boring, boring view from my bedroom window in Colorado:



Sigh.

Next I flew to Portland for New Year's Eve. The boys met me at the airport, and we hired an executive car to take us to dinner at the Magic Garden (not a Chinese restaurant). The burger was delicious, but I felt overdressed: not only was I the only girl in there with clothing - I had suitcases. Later there was a party at Patrick and Clockey's house, then a brief outing to a bar to hear Thor play DJ, and then a final stop at PK's loft for some kind of weird orangey liqueur that made me feel all refreshed. I woke up early in my own little apartment feeling great, and especially pleased that my suitcases had somehow followed me.

I miss Portland! Home of motorcycles and motorcycle boys.

Now I'm back in Colorado for two weeks or so. Went skiing with the family, conquered the mountain, destroyed my knees, had a blast. In four days I'm flying to Panama for a month. I'll be posting as much as possible from there, but I don't really know what that will mean, so hang tight, legions of fans (hi Molly!), and wish me luck.

xo