Relaxing Weekend at Home

This weekend, a much needed break from my personal stressors in LA, gave me an opportunity to celebrate Christmas with my family, sleep, relax, and mentally prepare for the next few weeks. On Sunday, I tested my cold tolerance and braved the 30-something temperatures for a two-mile run. Then my dad joined me for a nice walk around our neighborhood. My dad is a champion walker. His ridiculously long legs keep him at a steady fast pace and force me to practically jog to catch up. I was thankful for the several stops to say hi to neighbors.

After our walk, my parents and I headed out to Santana Row in San Jose for some lunch and window shopping. 

Heading to Santana Row - and the debut of my new haircut! Plus a terrific, awkward, too-big smile!

Out for some Christmas spirit!

 At Yardhouse, we each enjoyed one of the endless beers on tap and devoured our entrees.

Dad's cheeseburger

Mom's turkey cobb salad

My grilled veggie sandwich with sweet potato fries

I personally think I won the dish-off, but everyone enjoyed our meals. The service was also super friendly, though a little slow. I've never been disappointed by a Yardhouse, so check it out if there's one in your neck of the woods.

Santana Row is a lovely few blocks of popular shops and great restaurants. We popped into Paper Source, Crate & Barrel, Z Gallerie, and Sur la Table, people watched, then wandered around the nearby mall a bit. I was a little bummed that timing wouldn't allow us to see all the beautiful lights on Santana Row, but the window shopping certainly got me in the holiday spirit. 

This weekend I also worked out with my mom at her gym. I absolutely love her gym! They always have the most recent machines and tons of great classes. Unfortunately, our desired class was canceled today for the holidays, so I did 10 minutes on the stair climber and 15 minutes on the bike, two exercises I can't do in our apartment's mini-gym. Then I let Mom take the lead for our weights, and we did assisted pull ups, seated rows, tricep pull downs, bicep curls, and about a million different types of abs. I wish I belonged to a really nice gym like that, but maybe someday...

The rest of the weekend included lounging around, drinking hot cocoa, reading The Hunger Games, addressing Christmas cards, watching Love Actually, and going to see Sherlock Holmes. (Great movie, by the way! Go see it!) It was a wonderful weekend and a perfect distraction from missing my husband. I haven't mentioned it until now, but Terry is currently away on a business trip in Florida. He has been gone for over two weeks but comes home super soon! Obviously, I wish he had been able to visit Fremont with me, but this weekend was the next best thing. Though I stayed home sick from work today, I feel rested and ready for the last three days of school before winter break.