THANKSGIVING BREAK WRAP UP! (Part 1)

 

Even though I divided my Thanksgiving Break into two parts, this is still a long one! So grab a cup of coffee and hunker down!

Or just scroll through the pictures... I won't hate!

Most of the teachers at my school had off on Wednesday but I had to work. The weather report was calling for 4-8 inches of snow, but I managed to get in a five miler before the storm started. During my run, it was only raining. Thank goodness for waterproof Boston jackets!

I was actually looking forward to a quiet day at work with the possibility of being sent home early due to the snow. I spent the morning sipping coffee and practicing the piano. I needed to brush up on my Christmas Carols for my December lessons! Coffee + Christmas Carols at the piano + snow falling outside my classroom window = the perfect morning!

The perfect morning was made even more perfect when we got dismissed at 10:30 due to snow!

I decided to take advantage of the "free time" and get my house ready for the holidays. By 12:30, my house was clean. By 4:30, it was completely decorated for Christmas!

Christmas "helped".

All the stockings were hung on the wiring with care...

We used to be able to have a real Christmas tree.

The cats have slowly forced us to have a fake one, placed as high up as possible.

Jelly loves the Christmas rug!

Later that night, we made the trek up to my hometown for a Thanksgiving Eve party at our friends' house. I got to see some gals from high school- it's always good to catch up!

Me, Emily, and Tessa- friends since elementary school!

After an easy 8 miler, I quickly made my contribution to the Thanksgiving meal- green bean casserole! I make mine with LOTS of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and an entire can of french fried onions.

Getting a leg up on the Thanksgiving meal!

Next year, I am going to make an "Oops, all french fried onions and cheese" casserole. Now that sounds good, right!?

My entire extended family goes to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving. We eat at noon and spend the rest of the day/evening chatting, playing games, and just catching up! I had so much fun, and since Paul was feeling good, we actually got to stay for a long time. That is not something we have been able to do in awhile!

No pictures of my Thanksgiving meal, but I did have... turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, butternut squash, green bean casserole, crackers/cheese/veggies with dip, corn casserole, and little pieces of the following pies: chocolate, coconut cream, and lemon. I also had fingers and some wine. YUM!

On the way home from my cousin's, we were driving down the Carlisle Pike and noticed all the shopping plazas were PACKED. Everyone was out shopping and it was only 7:30pm! I could not believe it. We had no desire to go shopping. When we got home, we turned on all the Christmas lights (I put up a lot of lights in our house as Christmas decorations!) and watched SURVIVOR!!!! (Everyone I like keeps getting voted out...)

I was so due to catch up on sleep, so that is what I did on Friday morning. I managed to sleep soundly until 10:00! After puttering around the house for a couple hours, I went outside for a very chilly run. By the time I got back, I had a pretty bad headache. It was my own fault. I had not hydrated properly before my run and I hadn't brought water. I felt very depleted. I chugged two cans of seltzer water, popped some Advil, stretched, and refueled on chili. I felt a lot better after that!

That night, Paul and I drove up to my hometown (second time in three days!) and had dinner with my parents. I had salmon, french fries, and coleslaw... pretty much the best meal ever! On the way home, Paul and I stopped for dessert at... you guessed it, Dairy Queen! I am proud to say, I ordered a small, and it was just the right amount of Blizzard! Baby steps...

Did you decorate for Christmas yet?
What was your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal?
Did you get SNOW!?