Yay for after-Christmas Presents

Yesterday Betsy and I finally met up with our Hudson friends, after about two weeks of hand-wringing about the details - what day, what time, where. It was really fun. There was a little trouble about finding where everyone had parked, so we trundled around the "new downtown" for a while. The "new downtown Hudson" is quite nice; they tore down this old warehouse district and built a whole bunch of new stores. They all seem like boutiques, so there is no way I will be able to afford to shop there. Also lots of restaurants. Also, lots of stop signs. Which I run. Frequently. ;)

Anyway, after we collected everybody, we went to the Caribou Cafe and had hot chocolate and talked and talked and talked and talked in the manner that drives the male sex up the wall. I found out all about their lives and what everyone's plans were. Shannon took last semester off, and she is taking the rest of the year off, too; she's thinking about transferring to Hillsdale (whoo hooooo! Take me with you!). Carli is going to Africa for a service project (Take me with you!) and Katie is going to England to study next year (Take me with you!). Sigh. Me and Kat are the only two people pursuing normal schedules, I think! My sister is going to do - if she is accepted - AmeriCorps.

We got into religion a little bit - the other subject (besides politics) that you're not supposed to discuss if you want to keep your friends. But we break all the rules, he he he. Shannon has officially split from the Episcopal Church, and she and her family are with the Anglicans now. It's a shame, because Christ Church Episcopal is a such a pretty little church. But if there's going to be heresy taught there, the architecture doesn't really matter, does it? Of course, if she was really going to join the true Church, she should just take that extra step and become a Catholic (push, push, push). Anglo-Catholic is sooooo close, isn't it? LOL.

We talked for about four hours, and then Betsy and I had to leave because we thought we were going to go out for dinner with Mom and Dad (not so, as it turned out). But before we left, Kat handed out little presents. What a sweetheart! Everyone got these cute little magnets with clever sayings on them. Mine said, "I would stop eating chocolate, but I'm no quitter." How ... me. :)