Four Days On, Four Days Off...

I could get used to that sort of work schedule ;-)

Last week I took Friday off because the little man didn't have school that day, and we thought it would be better for him to spend the day doing fun things with a parent rather than sit in the office all day, glued to the computer. Which meant I had a 4-day work week last week, followed by a 4-day weekend, and now am starting another 4-day work week. Like I said, I could get used to this ;-)

Friday morning started with some Open House trips, where we traipsed around Goleta peeking at some of the newest listings. We came across a really nice condo in San Antonio Village, which really got me re-thinking my preference for a single-family home over a condo. I still do prefer the former, but finding out about some nice selections out there has made me rethink ruling condos out altogether. After a leisurely lunch back home, we headed off to the zoo. But first, we broke down one of Todd's diaper boxes and applied some surfboard wax to it, so he could use it as an ultra-slick sled on the little Astroturf hill in the play area of the zoo. I got the idea from Amal's husband, who told us about a friend of theirs who waxed boxes for his kids to zoom around in on similar hills near their house. I'm not sure if the wax made a difference, or if the flattened box just zipped fast because it was new and still had the glossy outer surface, but Todd sure did fly down those hills! So fast that once the sled stopped at the bottom, the momentum kept carrying him and he pitched forward, off the sled, every time. It was great fun!

Saturday was cleaning day, and after getting home from karate lessons and shopping, we rested up a bit before heading out to Joe and Tabitha's for dinner and a board game (Ticket to Ride), while Todd amused himself on their Wii.

Sunday brought Valentine's Day. I'm not a very big romantic. Flowers are a waste to me-- they just wilt and die in a week or two. I rarely wear jewelry (I stopped wearing my wedding ring about 6 months after we got married). Chocolate is okay, but ever since being spoiled in Europe, I don't much like American chocolate anymore. I'm the type who much prefers sensible, practical gifts to frivolous ones (except for stuffed animals). So we trooped out to our favorite restaurant-- Brummi's, where we were joined by two other couples from our small group. We had a lot of fun, and since all of us had been married for at least a few years, we mused that quiet, romantic dinners by ourselves on Valentine's Day were unnecessary, since we do that everyday, anyway! Let's do something different and actually celebrate with good company instead! :-) The food, as always, was to die for, and we enjoyed a fun evening out.

Monday we all slept in and enjoyed the warm weather-- the three of us made a picnic lunch and ate on the patio of the clubhouse in our apartment complex. It was warm enough to go swimming afterward, and I finally enjoyed some much-needed exercise!

Apparently the Olympics started in Vancouver this weekend as well, though I was blissfully unaware of it until I read Tabitha's tweet. Never mind that Canadian Jenna had already tweeted a whole bunch of opening-ceremony-related ones before that! Don't ask me why I didn't make that connection. Oh, and Chinese New Year, too. What is it now? Tiger? Rawr! I guess you could say we sort of celebrated, albeit unknowingly-- by buying Chinese food at Pick Up Stix for Sunday's lunch :-D

All in all, the long weekend was a pleasant mix of rest & relaxation and going out and doing fun things. And coming back in to a short work week? Icing on the cake ;-)That's what I call an enjoyable weekend!

And how was your weekend?