Before you could really find it in stores, my german exchange student brought us 2 jars of Nutella when she came. OMG. My mom and I kept it in the fridge and slowly chipped away at it for ages. It was a couple years before we were able to find it in a store in El Paso that catered to the German soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss.

OMG, Loki just crossed a LINE. He was nuzzling my hair (chlorine obsession) and then he was shoving his nose into my ear and the HE STUCK HIS TONGUE IN MY EAR. AIIIIIEEEEEEE!

Two nights. I haven't decided when to fly out yet. I guess I could fly overnight and have the whole day.

I tried the Sugar & Spice creamer this morning and it smelled like BUBBLEGUM! DO NOT LIKE!

I just had a feel-good cry over the latest Star Wars Katie article. CJ was actually worried about me for a bit.

I love Nutella, but not as much as the praline spread at Pain Quotidien.

I have the most amazingly beautiful pecan chocolate bark made -- it looks like actual bark. I have 3 more rounds to go, plus cranberry curd and lemon curd aplenty. But I've run out of canning jars. And eggs.

Oh, pecan chocolate bark sounds like heaven. NOM.

Go tell those hens to get busy laying! Still can't believe I didn't steal some of that curd when I had the chance.

Ooh, tonight I shaved another minute off my mile and a quarter. Been stuck at 46 laps in 44 minutes for a while, even with butterfly boy sharing the lane (he's faster so I tend to try to keep up) but for no discernible reason, was faster tonight. And this week's been achy due to hormones. Normally, I don't feel any strain the first quarter and by the third, it's flying. Been purely battling the first quarter and feeling every muscle and tendon (even my toes protest the flex of a kick or pushoff) and not hitting machinelike gold until the last quarter.

And now I'm finally home from work and errands. I need to eat dinner. You guys, my boss has almost my entire day booked off for team building tomorrow, so I am entertaining the thought of going into work early just so I can get something done. Provided I can get up early, which probably isn't going to happen unless I go to bed in about an hour.

At the grocery store, I bought brussels sprouts, raspberries, blackberries, and a very large bottle of gin. I need to hole up this weekend to write and order Christmas presents online, because I haven't started my shopping yet.

Remove the writing and add rake leaves, laundry, market and swim, and that's my weekend. Ok, so not so much like. But my buddy in xmas shopping hell!

Might also go get some shirts for da boys from here [link] at a weekend market. Or just order them and arrange for pickup.

My brother NEEDS this shirt: [link] for when he gets new interns.