Derek left for Boston 2 days ago and though I haven’t had a proper chance to chat with him, I know he is having a great time and even told me that he is ‘in love with Boston’.  The SBL conference starts tomorrow which he is very excited for and then he will be back to me on Wednesday!

In the meantime I decided to teach myself to knit. My friend Jess has been pushing me to learn and my wonderful husband found me some yarn and knitting needles while he was out and about earlier this week, so I decided to give it a go. I got frustrated at first but now seems to be picking it up, at least this one stitch I am doing anyway. Nothing fancy just yet. No guarantees that my scarf will look good, but it’s always fun to learn something new regardless. Good for the soul. I also downloaded myself some new music from iTunes so I can sit and listen and knit. So far I have made about an inch of progress. Hmm…

I have started seeing a personal trainer at the gym and it’s going well. I first met with him 2 weeks ago where he ran some tests and then created a programme for me that I have been quite diligent with since. I met with him again today and learned that though I gained 1kg, I lost 3% body fat…woohoo! But then he decided to add to my routine and now I wanted to die! I felt so discouraged because I was having a really hard time with the new exercises he was giving me. He asked how I felt at the end and I told him I was quite deflated and didn’t feel like I could do it. He then reminded me that I am not meant to know how to do these new things yet because why would he give me things I already knew how to do? The point is to make me better than I am and to improve. So, I just need to keep remembering that and know how good it will feel when these exercises get easier and easier. Here’s hoping!

This past Sunday was a gorgeous, sunny day. Derek and I decided we should get out of the house (after sleeping in until noon…oops!). We decided to walk over to Calton Hill because we have never been there before and we thought a clear day would provide a great view of the city from above. It was beginning to get dark when we got there (at about 3.30pm) so the pics aren’t as bright as they could have been, but we managed to snap a few anyway. (click below)

Calton Hill – Nov ‘08

That’s basically it for the Browns just now. I will be in New York City in less than 2 weeks and I can’t wait! Will be great to see NYC all lit up for Christmas but even moreso it will be wonderful to see my sisters and then Lucas & Shannon for a couple days too. Then in a month from tomorrow we will be off to Banffshire (Scottish Highlands) with our friends, Dave & Lisa, to spend Christmas at a nice wee cottage for a week! Lots to look forward to!