One holiday over, one more to go.

By Gaby -
How is it possible that a whole week has passed since we were getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving break?  It was all seriously a blur.  We arrived in Canton late and I got up fairly early (although not as early as I had hoped) to start preparing my side dishes.  In the end, I didn't have enough time to make the two pies I had wanted to make, but it turned out alright because there was more than enough food and the guests ended up bringing unexpected desserts of their own.
I made brussels sprouts gratin, pureed turnips with thyme, sweet potato pecan casserole, and homemade bread rolls.  The turnips were my favorite thing that I made and I'll definitely make them again in the future.  The rest of the break was spent mostly at home with the family.  There was one day in there that I didn't leave the house due to, ahem, feminine issues.  My family and husband have quickly learned that I am utterly useless on that one particular day every month.  Needless to say, I missed out on Black Friday, which I was okay with.  I hate crowds (as you know:)) so I didn't mind waiting to hit the shops until later.  Ryan did some of his own Black Friday shopping with my dad and he got started on some early Christmas gifts, which I was glad for.  I already have a few gifts wrapped, tagged and ready to go!
On Saturday, after some shopping with my mom, I met up with my old high school bestie at a Panera for coffee and catch-up.  I hadn't seen her in almost two years so it was nice to see her again.  Sunday morning, went to church with my mom and then did more shopping.  We arrived back in Columbus really late due to unwarranted traffic jams, and THEN, to top it off, when we arrived and my brother got in his car to drive back to his apartment on the other side of town, his car wouldn't start. Ach!  So that was a late night end to my 5 day break.  My dad actually came into town to check out my brother's car yesterday and luckily, all he needed was a new battery.  Our dad is really the best, and it's tough to imagine what we'd do without him.  I wish my parents lived a little closer, though, so we could spend more time with them.

So, it's back to teaching and the weekend has me rehearsing and performing for a few holiday gigs.  Hopefully, I can get in some more Christmas shopping done, too.

How was your break and how does it feel to be back in routine?

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