Happy Black Friday!

For my international friends, it's called Black Friday because this is the day when most retailers make it into the black (profitable) for the year, with huge pre-Christmas promotions.

I am missing it terribly, and cannot believe I have now missed it for 2 years in a row!! This will not happen again, I will be home for Thanksgiving and Black Friday next year! (Jinny be forewarned :-) In past years, I have been proud to say I have finished my Christmas shopping on Black Friday. People think we are nuts, but I think shopping during the latter half of December is worse. Besides, it's not as much about the shopping itself, but the challenge, and most importantly, memories and tradition. So Mom, Chris and Jinny, power up the walkie talkies beginning of November next year!

For us, normally, Thanksgiving always includes the following:
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Philadelphia Parade
cooking
lots of appetizers and wine
a huge feast with lots of friends and loved ones
the thankfulness tree
Sunday best outfits
football game
tons of dessert options
a food coma nap
and at night, we are allowed to watch the first Christmas movie of the season, and to look over the Black Friday ads, to make our plan of attack for the following morning, usually beginning at 4:30-5am.

This year, Sheena, Nicole and I had a small feast, and had some friends over. We had turkey, a vegetarian roast option, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, corn, garlicky broccoli, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, lots of wine and for dessert...homemade pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Highlights included a rather wild and competitive Texas Hold'Em tournament, and Nicole going crazy over the whipped cream because she didn't know you could make it fresh from liquid cream (she thought you bought it in a can already whipped, or else CoolWhip). Hee hee.

Lots of stuff happening this weekend, so no posts till next week, AND I can't believe it's only 2 weeks until Berlin and the Christmas markets!!!

Evidence-Based Practice

So I have been crazy-busy this week, mainly because I somehow agreed to give two presentations on Wednesday, on two different topics! And then also said I would do a presentation this coming Monday, mainly because I have a soft spot for Cecilia (see my picture to the right of my "former supervisor..."). She managed to pull together a last minute holiday to the Maldives, and is not back at work until Tuesday, but was scheduled to do a presentation on Monday. So I volunteered to take her place. I swear, sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

Anyway, the presentations on Wednesday went well. I was a bit nervous for the first one, because for the first couple of minutes, it was just Claire (my supervisor) and myself staring at each other. The physios had already said they weren't going to be able to make it, and as I found out later, the speech therapist had forgotten. But then, bless them, the entire stroke rehab team came in, including my friend Laura who doesn't normally attend these teachings, but when she heard it was me decided she had to come along too. That talk was on Social Cognition, which I've discovered is an absolutely fascinating subject, and very much a hot topic too...a lot of papers and research around social cognition are being done right now and within the past few years. So not quite unbelievably given my track record (see above), I actually heard myself volunteering to compile a resource folder/binder on Social Cognition by the end of this rotation. As if I don't have enough to be working on around my objectives, I have actually given myself a rotation's worth of work! But then again today, I only had one patient I could actually work with (the rest were too ill or waiting for a nursing home bed), so I embarked upon my literature search, and turned up a fair number of articles. And was enjoying reading them. I know, I'm such a nerd. I think I would make being a student my profession if only they'd pay me good money to do it...

Rehearsal Dinner...

Beantown, Baby!

Let's see, how did it go again? Oh yeah, Jenn followed me up to Boston, then Heather followed Jenn. I'm a leader!

Father-Daughter Dance

The choice: Sunrise, Sunset. Everybody with me now, awwwww! "Is this the little girl I carried?...When did she get to be a beauty?"

Be nice, Jenn!

Viva Italia!

Well, it's the Italian flag in reverse anyway. There is one of us in the correct order, but this is the one where all three of us look best.

Me and my Jenn

The Italian connection

There were a fair few of us at this wedding who had all lived in Milano Tre (just outside Milano, Italy). The Duncansons, me, my parents, Jenn's mom...somehow we missed out Morris, Jenn and her sister Erica for the photo, though. They must have been boogying out on the dance floor.

Jenn and her dad; her husband Chris and her mom

Awwww. And as Jenn's sister has pointed out to me, those are her arms thrown up into the air behind Chris' back. Is it just me, or do people seem to be dancing to different music in this picture?! :-)

Jet Lag, Shmet Lag

Too tired to do a lot of pics and posting tonight, so here are just a couple from Sunday. I got to hang out with the Gables for a few hours...for those of you who don't know, I went to college with Brian, and Carla was his girlfriend/high school sweetheart at that time. Long story short, I became very close with Carla and was maid of honor for their wedding in 2002. And now I'm an Auntie for their first baby, a Lil' Slugger, as Brian calls him. I've seen pics of Brett in his little Eagles outfit, although Brian is not currently dressing him up for Sundays because he thinks it's been bringing bad luck (pffff! silly boy). Anyway, it was a ton of fun, meeting Brett, seeing Cleo (a kitten I rescued and they adopted), and trying out the Nintendo Wii with Brian. Hopefully I'll get pics from Carla of me and Brian squaring off at tennis. And now I have a teeny obsession with the Wii. Shhhh.

My "nephew" Brett Frederick Gable

Approximately 3 months old, in his snuggly musical baby chair. Awwww!

Here I am world!

"Look Who's Talking"

Ok, maybe not talking, but interacting. "I'm the baby, gotta love me!"

Auntie Allison! :)

Shout out to Viv!

I've made it back, safe and sound, from my whirlwind weekend, if a little homesick and a lot tired...partly due to forgetting to set my alarm back with the time change in the States this weekend (we had that over here a week before you guys), so that I got up at 4:30 instead of 5:30 this morning. Ouch! I can hear some Guy Fawkes Night fireworks going strong in different parts of East London through my window.

So I have lots of pictures--rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, meeting baby Brett Gable, and some others I'd forgotten I had on my camera, such as from the Rugby World Cup Final when I was in Oxford with my friend Tracey. Lots of photos to come, then! But what I don't have are photos from my night out in NYC with Viv and her boyfriend Eric :(

Viv, we obviously have a LOT to catch up on, will give you a ring later this week or weekend. Although I was operating through my jet lag fog, I must tell you I was impressed. I look forward to getting to know Eric better...so I guess that means you guys had better get those European trip plans going soon!