What a week we
had, y’all! I feel like we squeezed a
million things into our Thanksgiving Break, and it was a really great one! Just looking at the title of the blog posts
makes me tired. Haha. Let’s get to the recap!
Monday, November
20
Monday, the
kids were out of school and Brian was off of work because it was Thanksgiving
break!!!! We all slept in, had a low-key
breakfast, and then I spent some time being lazy and enjoying a cup of hot
cinnamon tea. I also got the garlands on
our Christmas tree since the lights were finally done.
Later in the
morning, I got showered and ready for the day, and then we had an early, light
lunch because we had to be out of the house before 1 to pick up the kids’
friends to come over and hang out for the day.
We picked up Jacob’s friend WJ first, and then we headed to Olivia’s
friend Savannah’s house to grab her, and then we all headed back to our house.
Jacob and WJ
played video games pretty much the whole day (we usually don’t allow that much
screentime, but we make an exception when friends are over), and Olivia and
Savannah lived their best lives listening to Taylor Swift and making
slime.
They made slime
for a couple of hours, and while they did that, I got some laundry done along
with some blog work. They wanted to go
out and play in the leaves after they were done with slime because our tree
(and yard) were at peak with colorful, crunchy leaves everywhere, and
they had a blast out there for the rest of the day.
Brian had
stepped out to pick up tables and chairs and some last-minute things for
Thanksgiving since we’re hosting, and I helped him get all of that put away
when he got home.
Olivia and I
drove Savannah home at 5, and then WJ’s dad picked him up at 5:30, and then we
got dinner ready. On the menu for Monday
was breakfast – eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, and toast – as it’s always the
kids’ favorite dinner that we do at home.
That’s why we make it almost every week.
Haha.
Last weekend I
had listed a bunch of stuff for sale on Facebook in a local selling group, and
I ended up selling several items, so the last of the items were picked up
Monday evening and it felt great to have everything out of our house + some
extra money in our pockets!
After dinner,
the kids headed upstairs to shower and get ready for bed, and I got in a stair
stepper workout while they did that.
Afterwards, we all headed downstairs in our cozy PJs, and we decorated
the main tree in our living room. The
kids each have a tree in their bedrooms for all of their handmade ornaments
over the years, Brian and I have a tree in our bedroom for all of our leftover
wedding ornaments, I have a tree in my office for all of my favorite things
ornaments, and the main tree in the living room is for all of our family
ornaments throughout the years. I have
all of mine from when I was a kid, B has all of his from when he was a kid, and
the kids each get new ornaments each year as well, so it’s a FULL TREE. Side note, Olivia saw my ornament from 1989 and said, "Mommy, we have a Taylor Swift ornament!!!!" I had to explain to her that was actually not a Taylor Swift ornament, and that it was, in fact, literally from 1989. Lol. My teacher's assistant made those for all of the students in my second grade class for Christmas that year. <3
Once it was all
done, I just couldn’t believe how beautiful it turned out. I had worried that an artificial tree just
wouldn’t hold a candle to our usual real trees, but y’all, I have to say, our
artificial tree looks EXACTLY like the old Fraser fir trees we always get every
year, but the artificial tree is BETTER.
The branches are stronger, so the ornaments don’t droop, and we don’t
have to worry about it being dead and brown by Christmas Day! It will also be worlds easier to take down at
the end of the season. I’m. in. love.
After the tree
was decorated, we all snuggled up to watch two episodes of the new season of The
Santa Clauses, and then after the kids went to bed, B and I finished season
one (and what we’re assuming to be the only season) of Wilderness. We loved it.
Tuesday, November
21
Tuesday, we
woke up to a dreary, rainy day which meant that we spent the day indoors. I enjoyed some hot tea and finished a blog
post, then I got in a mixed cardio workout.
I also got the whole ground floor tidied to perfection, B and I rounded
up all of the items to be donated and put them in my trunk, I cleaned the
toilets, vacuumed, and freshened up all of the hand towels, and then I pulled
some of the fall décor back out to get the dining room ready for Friendsgiving
that I was hosting that evening.
I did some more
blog work in the afternoon, and then I got ready for the evening. In the early evening, Brian and the kids
headed out so my girlfriends and I could have the house to ourselves. Jeannine’s husband offered to keep all of the
kids since three of us would be at Friendsgiving, so Brian dropped them off
over at their house and then he headed out for dinner and drinks with his two
best friends from high school.
After they
left, I got to work staging the house, whipping up a big batch of my Bonefish
copycat Winter White Cosmos, making my Momma’s famous mac and cheese, and
putting together a charcuterie board. I
had just finished all of that when my girlfriends started to arrive.
Five of us
ended up being able to make it Tuesday evening – Jeannine, Jen, Jessica,
Heather, and me – and we had the best time.
I gave everyone a house tour since it was all decorated for Christmas, and
then we enjoyed our cocktails and grazed on the charcuterie board for a bit
before turning to the main course.
Each girl
brought a dish, and we had a rotisserie chicken with homemade cranberry sauce,
mac n cheese, sweet potato souffle, and one of the best salads I’ve ever had
with smoked gouda cheese, bacon, apples, and almonds. For dessert, we had apple pie with vanilla
ice cream, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we were all STUFFED by
the time we were done.
The girls
headed home a little after 8, and then I got the kitchen cleaned up while I
waited for Brian and the kids to get home.
Brian had had a great time with his friends, and the kids had had a
great time with their friends, and it was just a great evening for all of
us.
James
(Jeannine’s husband) sent me a couple of pictures of the kids throughout the
night, and they’d had the best time decorating cookies and hanging out.
Once we were
all home, we got in our PJs and then we watched another episode of The Santa
Clauses before sending the kiddos to bed.
Brian and I started a new show called Tell Me Your Secrets on
Amazon Prime, and y’all, I was hooked after episode one! It’s intriguing.
Wednesday, November 22
Wednesday was HELLA productive, and I felt super accomplished and ready
for Thanksgiving when the day was done.
I was the first one up Wednesday, so I took advantage of the fact that
the house was tidied to perfection, and I went ahead and photographed the whole
downstairs for my Christmas home tour.
After that, we all had breakfast, and I spent the next hour sipping my
hot tea and catching up on some blog reading.
I was about two weeks behind, and I caught up on a whole week’s worth
Wednesday morning. I love reading blogs,
and I love to support all of my blogger friends, so I hate when I get behind.
After that, I laced up my tennis shoes and headed out for a very cold,
windy run. The weather was gloomy all
day Wednesday again, but there was no rain, so I wanted to get in one good run
before all of our Thanksgiving festivities started on Thursday.
After my run, I unboxed some packages that had arrived, and I started
putting together some outfit ideas for my trip to New York City.
We had lunch after that, and then I worked hard for a couple of hours
clearing off the kitchen countertops and scrubbing them down. We hosted Thanksgiving Thursday evening, so
we needed ample space for the food buffet.
We also got the extra table and chairs set up and decorated in the
foyer. I also chatted with my Momma on
the phone for a bit about some last-minute details, and then it was time to get
ready for the day.
Once we were all ready for the day, we set up the tripod in our back yard
and took family pictures for our Christmas card. The weather was yucky, and the beautiful fall
foliage had blown away in the storms on Tuesday + it was FREEZING and the wind
was blowing almost constantly which made picture-taking really hard, but we got
them done. They’re not my favorite, but
they’re not bad considering we did them ourselves in our back yard in some
unfavorable conditions. Not to mention
taking the pictures had been hanging over my head for WEEKS, so I was just
happy to knock them out.
We were all freezing by the time we got back inside, so I grabbed another
cup of hot tea, and I headed to my office to work for a couple of hours. I had big plans to get a couple of blog posts
knocked out, but unfortunately, when my new iOS updated on my iPhone a few days
ago, it messed up the connection between my phone and my PC, and it took me an
entire hour and a half to get the pictures off of my phone to my computer. It used to take about five minutes. For a while there, they wouldn’t come off at
all, and I was worried they never would.
That would be a complete and utter MESS if that ever happened since I remove
pictures from my phone weekly for blog posts.
Y’all, sometimes I HATE technology.
I was finally able to get the pictures transferred to the computer, but
by the time they were there, I only had a few minutes to finish my blog post
for Thursday, and I had no time to get ahead on the blog once again. This year has just been awful for that. I haven’t been able to get ahead ever since
my vertigo started back in July. For one
reason or another, something always happens when I’m just about to get ahead.
Wednesday evening, we went out for Mexican food at our favorite local
place, and B and I enjoyed a round of margs.
We typically do Mex nearly once a week, and it had been weeks since we’d
had it, so it hit the spot. We almost
always go out for Mex the night before Thanksgiving, too. It’s been a tradition for me to do that since
I was in my early 20’s. We’d always hit
up margarita night since it was always on a Wednesday, and then we go downtown
to the bars and clubs and meet up with old friends who were back in town for
the holidays. The good ol’ days. Haha.
After Mex, the kids asked for DQ, so we swung by there on the way home,
and then I did a Bible study while the kids got showered and ready for
bed. We watched another episode of The
Santa Clauses, and then after the kids went to bed, B and I watched another
episode of Tell Me Your Secrets.
Thursday, November 23
Thanksgiving morning, we started the day with homemade waffles, bacon,
and mimosas, and then we all curled up on the couch and watched the entire
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from start to finish. This was the first year that the kids didn’t
lose interest somewhere in the middle of it.
After that, they watched the dog show, and I got off the couch and
started getting stuff done since we were hosting my entire family that evening
at our house.
We had a light lunch, and then I squeezed in some blog work… yes, on
Thanksgiving Day… because when you’re a blogger and you’re behind, that’s what
you do! I typically blog ahead and have
everything done for this week, but as I’ve already mentioned, it’s been
impossible to get ahead this year. Every
time I try, something happens and I can’t.
Midway through the afternoon, I got showered and ready, and then it was
time to get the house ready to host my Mom’s side of the family for Thanksgiving. We have nearly 50 people on Momma’s side of
the family, but due to cancer, dementia, and various other illnesses in the
family, we ended up having just under 20 people Thursday evening. I think it was the smallest group we’ve ever
had.
We always do a potluck for holiday gatherings, and each family brings a few
dishes. This year, I provided the
pineapple casserole, garlic roasted green beans, a cheeseboard, and drinks, so I
spent the next couple of hours getting those in the oven and getting the house
all cozy and ready for our guests.
Everyone arrived around 5 and ended up staying until after 9. We had a great time despite the fact that so
many family members were missing, and it was a fun evening.
After everyone left, B and I got the kids in the bed, and then we watched
some more of Tell Me Your Secrets before heading to bed. I was exhausted.
Friday, November 24
Friday morning, we slept in yet again (praise!), and we hung out at home
all morning. I got a few things done
around the house and then went for a two-mile run to burn off Thanksgiving #1,
and then I made another pineapple casserole to take to Thanksgiving #2 at my
father-in-law’s house.
We spent the whole afternoon over there with all of Brian’s family, and
then we headed home to rest for an hour before it was time to leave for Fantasy
in Lights. I worked on some blog stuff
and did a little bit of Black Friday shopping from home until it was time to
go.
Friday evening, we all drove to Fantasy in Lights in Pine Mountain, GA for
our annual visit. We had a big group
this year – my Momma and Daddy, both brothers and my SIL, niece, and nephew,
and my brother’s BFF/roommate + our little family of four, and my SIL’s mom and
dad, sister, and nephew.
We spent the first hour walking around soaking up all of the Christmas
goodness, and then we got in line for the trolley just before 6. Even though it was one of the busiest nights
of the whole year, we were able to load one of the trolleys just slightly past
6. I handed out candy canes to all of
the littles, and then we spent the next hour riding through all of the
lights. We’ve been going to Fantasy in
Lights pretty much every year since it opened when I was maybe 10 years old, so
it’s one of our longest lasting traditions, and it never gets old!
After the trolley ride, we hung out by the new giant Christmas tree that
does a cool light show to music, and then we did the Christmas light
walk-through. We were able to get a
group picture of all of us at the end of the walk-through (minus my SIL’s
family who had left a little earlier), and it turned out so cute!
We were all starving by the time we left Fantasy in Lights, so we made
the long drive home, and we stopped at IHOP for a (very) late dinner. When we pulled up, there wasn’t a single car
in the parking lot, so we thought they were closed, but thankfully, they were
open, and we literally had the entire restaurant to ourselves.
All 12 of us got breakfast for dinner, and it was the coziest, yummiest
meal after a festive, chilly evening.
By the time we got home, it was LATE, so we got the kids in bed, and then
B and I watched some football before we headed to bed late. We got way off of our usual schedule last
week, and B and I were staying up past midnight every night, and sleeping in
past 8 every morning, so Monday was a rude awakening. Haha.
Saturday, November 25
Saturday morning, we woke up to a very festive breakfast that Cheek, our
elf, had put together because he was back with us for the first time since last
Christmas. Breakfast was donuts,
cookies, gumdrops (Dots), and hot chocolate as any true elf breakfast should be. ;o) I
threw in a scrambled egg for myself to get some protein and something other
than sugar, though. Lol.
Cheek had brought new Christmas PJs for the kids, their annual ornaments
(a golf ornament for Jacob and a microphone for Olivia to commemorate two of their
hobbies this year), and a new Grinch video game to play on the Switch.
After breakfast, the kids immediately went upstairs to try out their new
game, and Jacob said it might be his favorite Switch game of all time which is
really saying something since he’s obsessed with Minecraft and Zelda Tears of
the Kingdom.
After breakfast, I got some laundry started, the kids did their laundry
for the week, and I got in a mixed cardio workout. Late in the morning, I made yet another
pineapple casserole for Thanksgiving #3, and we headed to my MIL’s house for
Thanksgiving with them. My step-sister-in-law
and her family were able to come for the first time in a couple of years, so it
was great to see them. We ate tons of
good food, spent some time outside in the sunshine, and we watched the first
half of the Alabama/Auburn game.
We got home around 5:30, just in time to watch the second half of the
game, and y’all, what a game it was! I
couldn’t believe that Auburn hung with Bama for so long, and I couldn’t believe
the end of the game either. Whew. I had hoped Auburn would pull off the win,
but Bama ended up making a miracle throw in the last 30 seconds of the game for
a touchdown to win the game. It was just
crazy.
While we watched the second half of that game, I sat down to get
organized for the week ahead. I planned
out my whole week ahead, made multiple to-do lists, made the meal-planning and
grocery list for Monday, and I crossed a few things off of my master to-do
list. I also peeked outside to see the tail end of a stunning sunset.
The kids made their own dinner since Brian and I were still full from our
late HUGE Thanksgiving lunch, and then we sat down to watch the Georgia/Georgia
Tech game. It was way too close for
comfort for the first half, so I ended up getting up and cleaning out the fridge
and the pantry as I watched, because that’s what I do when I get nervous during
a game. Haha. I feel like they play better when I’m not
giving them my full attention. Lol. #ItsNotWeirdIfItWorks
We got the kids in bed at halftime to try to get them back on a decent schedule
after a ton of late bedtimes, and then I finally sat down and watched the
second half of the game. We ended up
getting another win – 29 straight, baby! – breaking Alabama’s previous SEC
record of 28 straight wins! Woop woop!
Now we just have to get through Bama YET AGAIN in another SEC
Championship game matchup this coming Saturday.
Not-so-fun fact, Brian and I have been to four different Georgia/Alabama
games over the years, two of which were SEC Championship games, and we have
lost every single one of them. The recently
played games where we were not there, Georgia beat Bama. Sigh.
So apparently, it’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me. Hahahaha.
I’m happy to report that we will NOT be at the game on Saturday (I’ll
actually be in New York City!!!!), and I’m hoping that means that we will beat
them. Bless.
Sunday, November 26
Sunday morning, I got up a little bit earlier than I had been most days
last week, and I got in a quick yoga workout before it was time to get showered
and ready for brunch at my mother-in-law’s.
My nephew’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and she wanted him to
have his own birthday celebration while he was in town that wasn’t attached to Thanksgiving,
so they cooked a huge brunch.
We had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, hashbrowns, homemade
cinnamon rolls, pancakes, donuts, and fruit… they went all out even though they
had cooked a massive Thanksgiving lunch just the day before. It was all delicious.
We did birthday gifts and Hershey pie for birthday dessert per the
birthday boy’s request, and then we headed home.
We were home before noon, so I had the rest of the day to get my ish
together to prepare for going back to school on Monday. It was a cold and rainy day, so it was the
perfect day to stay indoors and be cozy, and I ended up working on blog stuff
for hours. I also started packing for my
trip, I did some Christmas shopping, and I crossed a few other random tasks off
the ever-growing list that I just can’t seem to get under control. I also did a Bible study and I watched my Sunday sermon that I watch every week.
For dinner, we made girl dinner AKA a charcuterie board with all of the leftover
Thanksgiving items we had on hand, and B and I finished the bottle of wine his
dad had brought over on Thanksgiving.
After dinner, we played a couple of rounds of Exploding Kittens (our favorite!), and then we watched an episode of The Amazing Race before getting the kids into bed early. Then, B and I watched some more of Tell Me Your Secrets before
heading to bed early, too.
And now for a few current things…
Currently Reading
I finished The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman on November 1, and I loved
it. Now I’m making my way through The
Idea of You by Robbine Lee, and I’m loving it, too! I would have probably knocked this one out in
a couple of days if I had more time, but my reading time has been very limited
this month.
I’m also still making my way through Winning the War in Your Mind: Change
Your Thinking, Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel, but I didn’t pick it up at
all this month again.
And I’m still working my way through The Bible and The Bible Recap.
Currently Watching
With B: This month, we’ve been
watching The Golden Bachelor, the new season of Shark Tank, and the new season
of Saturday Night Live. We also started
and finished Wilderness on Amazon Prime, and we’re now working our way through
Tell Me Your Secrets. Both are
excellent. And, of course, we’re still
watching tons of college football.
With the Kids: We’ve been working
our way through the new seasons of Lego Masters and The Amazing Race, and we
also started the new season of The Santa Clause on Disney+. We still haven’t gotten back to The Big
Nailed It Baking Challenge, but hopefully we’ll have time during Christmas break.
Alone: Serendipity on repeat. And I’m sure I’ll be throwing in The Holiday soon,
too.
Currently Listening To
I’m still on a Taylor Swift 1989 (Taylor’s Version) kick, and I recently
downloaded an entire album by Teddy Swims, and I am OBSESSED. Christmas music has also officially begun in
our household, and I can’t get enough! ‘Tis
the season, y’all!
What a week! Happy Tuesday, y’all!
