The first week after Daylight Saving Time ends is always the most depressing. Suddenly winter has sneaked up and smacked me in the head, bringing all of my hibernation instincts to the fore -- staying at home, wrapping up in blankets and flannel, drinking warm liquids (coffee, tea, cocoa). It's very easy to go to bed early now, a bonus since we've been getting up at 5:30 to go to the gym. And for a few short weeks it's actually light outside when we leave in the morning. Soon that will end and we'll leave in the dark and come home in the dark and start counting the days until spring.

They caught them. A surprise and a relief. Just in time for Sarah to arrive from Seattle for a whirlwind visit and our Halloween/Housewarming party on Saturday. And I picked up my new car! '03 Pontiac Vibe, AWD, ABS, sun/moonroof, 6-disc CD changer stereo, Neptune (deep blue). It's been fun so far -- I've already put 150 miles on it since Thursday!

The ongoing social whirl: Downtown Ladies' Social Club on the 17th -- which consisted of me and LT. Then over to le Bar at the new Sofitel to meet Susan and some other former USi cronies. Friday was a feast of unhealthy and delicious eating -- Ben's Chili Bowl for lunch and Bombay Gaylord for dinner. A beautiful clear, crisp day. Saturday, two parties: Kathi's baby shower and Jenn's birthday which turned out to be an engagement party as well! Sunday, brunch at Alycia's, followed by the oh-so-fabulous Dupont Circle House Tour. Truly how the other half lives. One row house had a swimming pool in the basement (!!!).

The surreal: It would be more terrifying if it weren't so absurd — the sniper.

The mundane: Last month was Ken's 34th birthday (9/18, 4 days after Rachel). We celebrated by eating a burrito. Don't ask me, that's what he wanted. ... My friend Jenn who works at the Kennedy Center got us comp tickets for a symphony performance and the seats were front row center! So we got to see Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg make faces while she played the violin. Ken has now served his yearly cultural sentence so I guess I'll be going alone if I get tickets again. ... We walked down the street to the Takoma Park Folk Festival at the nearby middle school. All the food vendors seemed to be selling meat on sticks which was a bit at odds with the animal cruelty booths. Go figure. ... I volunteered to be a speaker on a panel about online marketing for a local women's technology group, DC Web Women, for which I am now also the steering committee chair. ... My mentee's mother invited the mentors for her 3 daughters over for a delicious Vietnamese dinner. Ken was happy I brought home leftovers. ... I also went with her (Tuyet, mentee) to her school night at her new middle school since her parents work nights and speak very little English. Luckily she is adjusting and doing well. ... We had a spate of beautiful Indian summer (OK, nonPC, I don't know what else to call it) weather last weekend -- I was running errands on Saturday wearing shorts! It has come to an abrupt end and I actually had to turn on the heat last night. ... I dusted off my rusty French last Thursday night at a language dinner group at a local French restaurant. ... On the 26th we're having a very belated housewarming/Halloween party. The best part is my friend Sarah (my maid of honor) is flying in from Seattle that weekend. She's a contractor for Microsoft and gets travel allowance. ... Work continues to be hectic.

The whirlwind catch up on a beautiful fall day.

Sopranos premiere party at LT's with pinstripe clad Ken and Mark. Won the trivia contest. Happy anniversary Suzanna and David. Drinks with Catherine, new condo owner. Ken's birthday burrito at Chipotle. Ladies Club at the Governors House a deux with LT. Free symphony tix from Jenn, front row center! Painted my porch happy sunny yellow. Got a cat flap for the sliding glass door. Cats baffled. CPK lunch with Lisa. Speaking on email marketing (gulp) to DCWW the 26th. Parent/teacher night at Deal JHS with Tuyet.