Thanksgiving Break Wrap Up (Part 1)

Instead of a Weekend Wrap Up, I figured I'd do a Thanksgiving Break Recap in two parts... because I can!

~Wednesday~

We don't normally have off the day before Thanksgiving, so I was extremely excited to have an extra day this year! It gives me a day to do last minute errands and honestly just relax. But the biggest thing it does is allow me to not be so stressed leading up to the holiday. Knowing that I have that FULL day off to do ANYTHING I failed to get done just eases my mind completely!

This is what I woke up to... a Jelly boy sitting on my legs, staring me down...

Surprisingly, my hair looked like it was still "done" even after sleeping on it all night. My hair glue works like magic!

I had a lot on my agenda today! First, I wanted to fiddle around on the internet, drink coffee, and watch Morning Joe while I woke up. Then, the following items needed done:

1. Rake leaves.

2. Clean the house.

3. Go to the post office.

4. Make ornaments.

5. Wrap Christmas presents.

6. Do some blogging.

7. Workout.

8. Make a pineapple casserole and fingers.

I actually did everything on the list except go to the post office! What a productive first day of vacation! Now I can lay on my ass the rest of my Thanksgiving break.

That evening, we headed to Millersburg and listened to Christmas songs the whole way there! We found a Bing Crosby mix on Youtube and just let the good sounds flow!

First, we stopped in to see my Grandma. She was very happy for visitors.

Then we went to Emily and Jake's house for their annual Thanksgiving Eve gathering. Emily has been my friend since grade school. She invites mainly her family and just a couple close friends. We are very honored to be included every year! I love catching up with Emily and chatting with her aunts about Survivor.

Somehow, we got on the topic of how vinegar is good for you, so we all did apple cider vinegar shots. EW!!!! That's the last time I'll be peer pressured into doing that!

I barely saw Paul all night. He was downstairs in the man cave with all the dudes. We stayed until after 1am! On the way home, we had to be very careful and on the lookout for deer. We saw a whole family of them in the field. Beautiful. It made me feel guilty for eating deer bologna at the party...

~Thursday~

Look who cuddled me this morning!

Chrissy in my face, Jelly on my feet, story of my life!

Every Thanksgiving morning I make green bean casserole and go for a run.

At noon, headed over to Cousin Steph & Ken's house where they host my dad's side of the family all day. We ate around 1pm and it was delicious! Then we just spent time together and played games.

Me and my brother, Tyler

Me and Cousin Stephanie

Cousin Brian, Cousin Alex, and Tyler playing Code Names

Clark wrestling Grandpa

Paul and I left at 5:00 so we could head to his parent's house for their Thanksgiving meal. I wasn't that hungry by the time we got there (even though all I ate at Steph's was one plate, no dessert, and no "grazing") but I manned up and had a plate of the most delicious food.

Round 2? If I have to!

You can check out more pics and stories from our Thanksgiving day here!

We didn't get home until after 9pm. I had a lot of stuff to put away because my mom sent home some Christmas decorations for me!

She also sent these cool salt and pepper shakers. They are the ones we used all growing up. I know it sounds silly, but I love that I have these salt and pepper shakers now!

My dad sent some books home for me. I have read A Walk in the Woods but I may read it again. The Gift of Fear is one of my favorite books. I'm going to read that for the third time, I think! Actually, maybe I should see if Gavin de Becker has anything new out... And as for the one about the 100 year old man, well, my dad just read it and highly recommends it!

After I showered and put everything away, we finally watched Survivor! I was so tired but I couldn't go another day without watching it.

~Friday~

I was beyond excited to sleep in! I made it until nearly 8:00! Then I did what I love doing on days I have no plans... I drink lots of coffee, catch up on blog reading, and wrote some blogs of my own. Then I had a hearty breakfast of dippy eggs, toast, and orange juice!

Using the scratch pad for a pillow!?

After a substantial amount of laying around, Paul and I headed to Duncannon to hit up the Appalachian Trail. He hiked and I ran up to Hawk Rock and beyond. We were out for about an hour and a half. It was great to be out there in the fresh air instead of stuck in traffic or shopping crowds.

On the way home, we stopped at Buddy Boy Winery. We did a tasting at their shop in Gettysburg but were never at their vineyard. It was definitely an interesting place. Everyone was nice, but the only part of the winery that was inside was the tasting room and the small room where you buy the wines. They did have sort of a pavilion but we were cold in our running/hiking clothes!

Since it was their anniversary weekend, it was $7 for seven tastings and a free glass, so that's what we did. We tasted so many we loved and ended up getting 9 bottles! There was a Black Friday discount, though.

There was a kitty cat in the tasting room!

We opened one of the bottles and enjoyed it in the pavilion where there was a band playing. We didn't catch their name, but they were very good.

Soon, we were too cold and hungry and needed some food. There was a tent making lots of yummy stuff, so we got a hot sausage, fries, and chicken corn soup. It was divine! We ate in the car with the heat blasting!

 When we got home, we just relaxed. Oh, if only Jelly knew how to relax...

I guess my first three days of break could be summed up in four words: family, friends, food, and felines!

Do you do anything special on Thanksgiving Eve?
Have you read any of those books?
Have you ever taken a shot of vinegar?