It’s been a week already? How does time pass so quickly when I am home? Then again, when I think about all the fun I have been having, it seems I’ve been fitting quite a lot.

On Saturday evening, we RedBox-ed The Five-Year Engagement. It was okay, there were laugh out loud moments, and scratch your head “is this really happening?” moments. Still, the movie makes a point that sometimes you have to commit, to go forward, because waiting for perfect will turn into just waiting. The time is now. Oh, and please no one ever serve me a beverage in a cup made from deer hooves, thanks.

On Sunday evening, we went to see Skyfall, the newest James Bond movie. It was excellent. The movie opens with something of a music video for the Adele song by the same name as the movie. You realize later the video foreshadows the action of the movie. I applaud the person who thought to put that together.

After Skyfall, we watched the American Music Awards. It was a lot of Justin Bieber for someone who is not a fan. Then again, he dedicated the first award to the haters, so thanks Biebs! I enjoyed performances from Carly Rae, Taylor Swift (did you see that onstage costume change?), P!nk, Pitbull, and No Doubt. However, the best performance may go to Psy who brought everyone to their feet with his performance of “Gangnam Style.”

On Monday evening, we were back at the movies, this time to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I was caught off guard by the depth of the movie. I even cried. It was sweet and strange. The complexities of being in high school, learning who you are, and of trying to understand the experiences of your life came down upon me. If you need an education in how difficult growing up can be, here is your movie.

I did a lot of shopping. We live not even five miles from a Tanger Outlet complex spread over three shopping areas, with additional shopping opportunities scattered between and in downtown Rehobeth. Add that this is tax free Delaware, and I give you Shopping Heaven. New sweaters, new dresses, new tights, new slippers, new belt, new top, and my first foray into the world of headbands, inspired in part by Blair Waldorf. That was shopping day one.

Then there was a trip to the Christiana Mall which offers the Apple store, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Macy’s, and more. If only my closet was bigger… (and my wallet). At the Apple store, I made a big commitment to a new computer, a beautiful 15″ MacBook Pro with a super fast processor and a huge amount of memory. The keys have back lights, my internal speakers work, I have iCloud access, there are “launchpad” and “mission control” apps, and so much more I look forward to discovering.

Of course, Thanksgiving was spent with the family. A fraction of the group gathered at my Aunt Mary’s house in PA. Three of my cousins had opted to spend the holiday with the other half of their families, which means Christmas will be a full house. Still, it was the first time I had seen those present in months, and it was good to reconnect over a meal.

Friday came and was a beautiful day, too pretty to stay indoors, so despite my planned 5k on Saturday. I voted in favor of a family bike ride. We rode down the Breakwater Trail into Rehobeth and over the boardwalk there. Cruising on the boards, I looked out over the beach to the crashing waves and thought “how lucky I am to come home to the beach.” We paused for a slice of pizza and fries before pushing home to escape the dropping temperature.

Saturday morning I had to rise early (7 AM!) to defend my Age Group title at the Huffin’ and Puffin’ for Pumpkin Pie 5k. I persevered through gusting winds and chilly temperatures to earn my champion status once again. I was 23 of 478 and finished in 20:35, just four seconds slower than last year. Though while I was running, I thought my 2011 time was 20:36, oops! Mom came to cheer me on, then we went for a walk on the boardwalk. Again, looking out at the ocean I was reminded of how glad I am to come home to such a beautiful place and how hard it is to leave.

The rest of Saturday went by too quickly, and now I am on my way home to Clemson. It was a great break and I can’t wait to be home again in less than four weeks!