I would have done without the jewels.

As I watched the temperature rise from -10 to -5 over the course of the entire day, I decided I couldn't stick around to see what would happen over the weekend. The freezing temperatures and even more painful wind chills drove me south of the Mason-Dixon.

It was quite a relaxing weekend, made perfect by an hour long run on Sunday. The run was so perfect because it was a 53 degree (and sunny!) Atlanta afternoon. I think the post-running high left me a little jaded, though, as I suggested we go for a walk after dinner. However, once we stepped out of the restaurant, I realized that 53 and sunny was perfect for a run, but rather chilly for a postprandial walk (especially once 53 and sunny turned to 43 and dark). But, there is no doubt that even 43 degrees felt warm compared to the negatives. Apparently though, this record-breaking trend of cold temps is not exclusive to Indiana, as today marked one of the coldest inaugurations in history.

And this excruciatingly cold weather means: layers.

I was surprised to find, though, that Michelle Obama not only forgot her scarf, but donned what appeared to be a thin coat. When the Obama family first exited the Blair House this morning, I waited with bated breath not to see Barack (side note, though, congratulations to Mr. President. His speech was everything I hoped for- and more in some ways), but instead to see what the soon to be First Lady was wearing.

However, when she emerged in her Isabel Toledo outfit, I felt disappointed. Throughout the campaign, she has attempted to channel Jackie O (I can't blame her). Her shifts and pearls have been almost identical to what Jackie wore during her one thousand days as First Lady (thank you, Oleg Cassini). As Michelle campaigned, I often wondered why she didn't just have her own style, as opposed to imitating Jackie. Sometimes I felt frustrated that she, as a potential future First Lady, didn't want to pave her own way. However, I decided that if I were going to be in the White House, I'd want to do it just like Jackie too. Therefore, I was eager to see what she'd wear today- if she'd get it just Jackie right.

Michelle's yellow outfit drew parallels to Jackie's inaugural attire, however, the jewels seemed a little overdone. I wondered if Michelle (who, as of last night, hadn't picked out her outfit) thought she'd try to begin the presidency by incorporating her own style into Jackie's. I'm sad to say, though, that Jackie's simple and elegant style should be left untouched. You either do it, or you don't. It's not really up for interpretation.

But, seeing as Sasha and Malia looked fabulous, I can forgive Michelle for one wrong outfit. I mean, Barack stumbled as he took his oath, she stumbled as she chose her outfit- it just proves that they're human. It just proves that no matter how perfect they seem, the Obamas are just like you and me. And regardless of having too many jewels on her shift, the err in judgment makes me like her a little more.

Mr. and Mrs. Wiener, this is Mr. and Mrs. Anuz

For the most part, I'd say I'm pretty traditional. I try to be progressive at times, but deep down, I believe in being a little old fashioned.

Because of this, a new California law awakened me from my holiday blogging sabbatical (a minor hibernation stint) and brought me back to the real world. And, after about a month sans blogging, I realized my dad is right, when you quit, it's hard to come back to it (he says: you shouldn't skip a day of running, because once you stop, it's a heckuva lot harder to start again). And he's right. It was hard to start, which reveals just how intrigued I was by this new law.

The law provides a newly married couple with several options when choosing a last name:

1. They can take either spouse's current last name
2. They can take either spouse's birth name
3. They can create a hyphenated combination of the last two last names
4. The can create a new name using a segment of both spouse's last names.

After scrambling the letters in both of my parent's names before they were married, I discovered my last name could have been far more interesting (the law gives hope for the Smiths, Joneses, and Browns of the world). A few of my favorite new last names for my family were: Ion, Beer, and, my favorite, Wiener. Whitney Wiener. Nothing like alliteration.

Now, I'm not so sure about this new law. I still believe the man should ask the woman on the first date. He should court her (with flowers). He should ask her dad for her hand in marriage prior to proposing. He should not see her before she walks down the aisle the morning of the wedding. And she should take his name.

Of course, I know a number of powerful, admirable, and wonderful women who are clinging to their maiden names, however, I'm a believer in a little old fashioned romance, which makes me question the new Whitney Wiener law.

But, I guess that's the beauty of Arnold's new CA law: it's your choice. If my dad had begged my mom to join him in celebrating this new law by taking on a different last name, she may even have complied. Her name, though, is Muff, and I fear her adulthood would have been drastically different if her resume read Muff Wiener.

Lucky for her, my parents maintain the same devotion to tradition that I do, therefore they stuck with the more common route. Thank goodness.

Of course, all of this love for tradition does not mean I'm afraid to try new things. Which is exactly how I found myself skiing in New Hampshire at the start of break. Although I got the hang of it, when Jim decided to take me down a black diamond at the end of the day, I found myself questioning why, exactly, I agreed to the run.But, I survived my day on the slopes, and will definitely go skiing again (sans black diamond). And after trying a number of new things (also- a Patriots game- outside!) in New Hampshire, it only renewed my love for the traditions my family upholds on Christmas. Between the Christmas Eve church service, hot chocolate on the stairs, and buckeyes at dinner, we managed to maintain quite a few traditions.

Of course, the festivities were not quite fulfilled without Ashley and Jose present. In the end, though, I'm grateful that they have two wonderful families to split the holidays between.

Additionally, I'm grateful that they chose to take Jose's last name, as opposed to mixing the two surnames and ending up stuck with a last name like Anuz.

give, live, love.

My friend Emily told me that when she was in preschool, she and her best friend Olivia despised two girls. The first was another girl named Olivia, obviously because her name was Olivia. The second was a girl who hated orange juice. Orange juice was Emily's favorite drink and she just didn't connect with the "just water" girl.

Recently, Emily ran into Just Water and apologized for disliking her in preschool. I've decided that Emily's apology is the perfect way to kick start this winter break. Not necessarily by apologizing to those we may have wronged in preschool (though I am sorry, Allie, that Becca and I gave you toilet paper to use for the Babysitter's Club Dolls and took all of the cute clothes) but just by rectifying the things in our life that might not be quite right.

Maybe you can give a few extra dollars to someone on the street. Or volunteer to help your mom in the kitchen. Or even send a holiday card to someone you've had a disagreement with recently. Why not just spread a little extra joy?

If you're not quite ready to confront the person, maybe you could do it anonymously, and someday, when the time is right, claim the good deed.

If I could (or had somehow wronged the people of Detroit), I might try to help out the automakers. Unfortunately, I don't really have this capability. Fortunately, though, I've not yet done anything to harm those dear automakers. We'll just have to hope that someone from above helps them out (Congress, God, Santa...anyone!).

Regardless of whether or not anyone bestows kindness upon Ford (Henry, not Tom, he doesn't need help) I'm willing to do my part to make the world a little bit better. I gave an extra dollar to St. Jude's today; next time I'll give five! Or maybe I will forgive someone for hurting my feelings or causing me pain. I might even send them a holiday card! Why not just spread love as much as possible? I mean, if Emily can forgive Just Water for hating OJ, I think I can forgive someone for a few harsh words and send a little extra love their way.

If Mufasa can, Britney can too.

I can safely say that one of my greatest downfalls is that I expect too much. I'm always confident it will be the best night, the best movie, the best vacation...ever!

And with such high expectations, a totally good time pales when compared to the great time I'd anticipated. I've been told, time and time again by my realist friend Jordan, that it would be better to expect the worst (or on her good days- just expect average results) than to expect the best. However, I continue to learn the lesson the hard way. Apparently, I'm a slow learner.

I'd like to say that I can't be blamed for this, though, as it seems to be a trend common among my family members, as well.

Over Thanksgiving break, we went to see the Lion King. Sam is undoubtedly the most avid Lion King fan I know. However, before the show, he admitted he was a little nervous for the musical, as he had such high expectations for Mufasa. Luckily, though, Mufasa's deep voice and broad shoulders fulfilled his expectations (other than his roar, as far as I can tell, Sam can roar better than Mufasa).

Although I didn't expect quite as much from Mufasa as Sam did, I did have high expectations for Thanksgiving this year. Such expectations were easily fulfilled with an amazing weekend with everyone in my family present, as well as Jim. Between tree decorating, a November birthdays celebration, Turkey trotting, and football (for the fellas) it was a weekend that surpassed all expectations.

Now, just two days later, I can only hope that Britney Spears will also surpass all expectations. Today, on her 27th birthday, her newest album ("Circus") drops. I plan on purchasing it this evening and my expectations are undoubtedly high. I expect as much from Brit as Sam expected from Mufasa.

Jim disagrees with me, saying that Britney is not ready to make the ultimate comeback (I saw him trash talk before football with my brothers this weekend, but I had no idea he was so eager to trash talk Brit, too...). However, I have faith. I'm not exaggerating when I say this really could be her best album yet. Jordan might advise me to expect something somewhere between "Blackout" and "In the Zone" but I have more faith in her than that. I've decided I'll just go with my instincts and anticipate the best we've seen from Britney yet...

...I told you I'm a slow learner.