Merry Christmas from Minnesota

We had a wonderful Christmas with Ryan's family. The only blemish on the day was the absence of Greg and Lauren. We "tele-Christmased" with them via iChat; our thoughts and prayers and with them and the twins (please...don't come yet!)

I spent the two days following Christmas engrossed in The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. I utterly enjoyed it. It would be a great book club read.

We head back to the real world tomorrow, and we will celebrate with the Harmans. I can't wait to see Jamie AND Kimmy!

It's begining to look a lot like...

Because we will be spending Christmas in Minnesota this year, I nearly didn't decorate. But one thing led to another, and before I knew it I had everything up. And I'm glad I did. It makes it easier to get into the spirit of the season.

Hola!

We had a fantastic time in Mexico. Couldn't have asked for more--except a few more days of vacation! Here are a few pictures.

http://www.picasaweb.google.com/alissa.packer/Mexico1?authkey=T3mKUEn8kIk

4 more hours...

...and I'm done with nights! Only 7 more call nights EVER as a resident. Reason to celebrate.

PANDORA

The two things that have kept me up at 4:00 am are this fun little blog and Pandora. Pandora is a website that allows you to listen to streaming music. What differentiates Pandora from other sites is that it lets you choose the artists you like, and then it plays music based on your picks. Pretty neat.
http://www.pandora.com/

A few days in the Windy City

Ryan and I recently visited Greg (his brother) and Lauren in Chicago. Greg's finishing Law School at the University of Chicago this year, so we took the opportunity to get a locals tour. This picture is from what is affectionately known as "The Bean." Here we are after a long day of walking up and down Chicago's Magnificent Mile. You can see more pictures at
http://www.ryanandalissa.com/new

Ready to go

Ryan and I leave for Mexico in less than 2 weeks. I haven't been this excited for a vacation, since Disneyland when I was 8 (thank you Grandma!) This is the hotel we're staying in near Merida. A dash of sun, a sprinkle of sand and a generous helping of ruins. Should be fun.

What to Wear???

Ryan's work has a black-tie Holiday Party every year, and every year I am faced with that eternal dilemma...what in the world am I going to wear. Here are a few of this year's candidates. Ideas and suggestions welcome. (Couldn't make all the pictures work, so you'll have to check out the links.)

http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/outfit.jsp?ensembleId=3157&categoryId=1700

http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=10594&N=1200192&categoryId=1700&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_1700&Nr=AND(CAT_EDITORIAL_CAT_ID:1700)&showAll=Y&defaultColorNameFromCategory=Black&defaultSizeTypeFromCategory=Misses

http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=10316&N=1200192&categoryId=1700&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_1700&Nr=AND(CAT_EDITORIAL_CAT_ID:1700)&showAll=Y&defaultColorNameFromCategory=Black&defaultSizeTypeFromCategory=Misses#ATLtop

http://www.shabbyapple.com/pc-67-11-antiquated.aspx

Books I've Read Recently

I am still working on Angle of Repose. I am enjoying it, but it has taken me months.

This books is fascinating. An insider look at Asperger's Syndrome (a form of Autism). Reminds me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, but Born on a Blue Day is true!

Very interesting and insightful, but I could have done without a few words/pages.