Dear Winter,
Listen, I'm sorry I talked so much smack about you earlier. Let's be honest, you really were being a big wimp in December and even earlier this month. It was in the 50s and 60s, and that just does not qualfy as winter. But this does not mean you have to go to such extremes to prove you're still big and strong. Wind chills around around 10 below are unneccessary. I was forced to bust out my long underwear yesterday, and let's face it, that's not cute. Especially because the pair I own are hand-me-downs from my mother, which means they come up almost to my chest and are probably older than I am. The weather appears to be getting back on track today, but let's try to keep this from happening again. Thanks.

Sincerely,
The girl who's trying to avoid dressing like a grandma at 25

Taking the leap
I've been talking about it for a while, but I'm finally going to join a gym. There's a nice one just a few blocks away, and if I go often enough my health insurance will reimburse me $200 a year. So no more excuses. Now I just have to work on the whole waking up early thing.

Mathletes represent!
I got a cold call from a PR rep at work the other day. He was looking for my contact information, but he didn't even now my name. I didn't mind, though, because he was representing the Math Counts program. I was a Math-lete when I was in junior high! (Yes, I was a huge nerd.) There's no way I can cover it, but I'm kind of excited about getting their press release.

The eagle is landing
The boy talked me into buying a new TV. (Hooray for Christmas bonuses!) It's a 42-inch flat screen, and it should be delivered in the next half an hour. The boy is so excited. After it arrives, I don't think he'll leave the apartment for the rest of the weekend.

Freedom
Thanks to the strep, I was in quarentine this weekend. The boy's mom is a nurse, and she told us we would be contagious until we'd be on antibiotics for two days. To avoid infecting our friends, we stayed in the apartment all weekend. I did sneak out to go to the library on Saturday, though. (Sorry, if I don't know you, I don't care if you get strep throat.) All of this made going to work on Monday pretty exciting.

Justification
One of the boy's friends just got engaged, and his fiance's family is loaded. (Her dad has a private jet.) We got invited to their engagement party here. Swanky, right? It's on Fifth Ave. and overlooks Central Park. I think this means I need a new dress from Anthropologie, especially since the party is the week after my birthday, um, and I just got promoted, and .... OK, I've run out of reasons, but I think I've talked myself into it. I also had a lot of time to shop online while I was stuck inside over the weekend. Here are the two frontrunners.

Good intentions
I made myself the loveliest salad for lunch today. I brought to work in the handy-dandy salad shaker thingy I got for Christmas. (It has a compartment for salad dressing!) But it was a co-workers birthday today, so we had a party this morning. That meant I had a huge bagel (mmm ... Panera) and way too many donut holes. That lovely salad? Yeah, barely touched it.

Just say no to rheumatic fever
That fever I had New Year's Day? Turns out I have strep throat. I wouldn't have a clue if I didn't have to go get a doctor's note on Tuesday. (Yes, she does in fact have a fever and swollen glands! No, she's not just milking an extra day out of the three day weekend!) The nurse said it was probably just a virus but did a strep test just in case.

The next day, I felt fine, just a little stuffed up, so I went to work. Then Thursday night, I get a message from the doctor's office saying they have my lab results. Well, I think, they're obviously negative because I feel fine and my throat doesn't hurt. I've had strep throat before. It hurts. The nurse calls again this morning and tells me she has a prescription for me. Really? Yes. You have strep throat. Really? Yes. Well, I guess it can't hurt to take the pills. And as The Boy pointed out, strep can turn into rheumatic fever if you don't treat it. I guess I should listen to him. After all, I gave him strep throat, so I should probably be nice to him.

Breaking my streak
I haven't had a cavity in at least 15 years. It's been long enough that I really don't have any recollection of getting fillings. I think I only had one cavity, and I was still young enough that I cried because I was afraid of the drill. Then I go to the dentist today, and I have two cavities. Two! Bugger.

Give me the good news
Just when I was beginning to think that 2007 was going down the tubes after just five day (strep throat, cavities, and an epic battle with my credit card company because they misprinted my new card with the wrong expiration date and it kept getting declined), something good happens. I got promoted! It doesn't really change my job description at all, but it's still a nice perk.

Nerd Love
As I type this, The Boy is playing his new PS3. Yes, he waited in line outside at 9 in the morning to get it on New Year's Eve Day. He would like me to point out that he did not specifically get up early to go get it, he just happened to wake up that early on a Sunday morning and saw online that Best Buy was getting in a shipment. Sorry, babe, I'm not sure if that makes you less of a nerd. But you do get points for not camping out over night to get it.

Starting the year out on the right foot
If there's anything better than spending New Year's Day with a hangover, it's got to be spending New Year's Day with a hangover and a fever. Hooray for viral infections!