Weekend report - So this is what a "staycation" feels like.
I have had the most relaxing, restorative weekend in ages. And that's not just the red wine talking.
We turned down a friend's invitation to her family's big, crazy Thanksgiving dinner (with nine kids!) in favor of lounging around in our pjs and baking a pumpkin pie from scratch. We even eventually got ambitious enough to cook an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner for ourselves, but it was almost totally stress-free. Dinner was baked acorn squash, roasted carrots, rosemary mashed potatoes, and home-made cranberry sauce. (Brandon added baked chicken breasts for a bit of protein, of course.)
I did a little Black Friday shopping, but mostly wandered the stores and looked around. It was nowhere near as chaotic as I had feared, but you could tell that the early morning shoppers hadn't played around - the shelves in the big clothing stores were in complete shambles. Brandon and I went back on Saturday and encountered a positively laid-back atmosphere - I guess everyone was pretty successful in gift shopping on Friday?
On Friday night while Brandon slept in preparation for a 5:00 am rigging call, I finally took out the dress pattern that my mother-in-law had given me for last Christmas and I cut out all of the pieces. I hope to at least get it pinned to some muslin next weekend so I can try out the pattern without worrying just yet about ruining the lovely purple jersey knit that she also gave me.
Spending time with Brandon has been the best part of the weekend. Since his work schedule is even more hectic than mine, we've hardly spent any quality time at home together since August. It's been wonderful to cook and read and laze about with him. Tonight, we made snickerdoodles and worked on some of his sponsorship plans for the coming competition year. It's been great to actually have time to enjoy being married - I was starting to feel like I just had an absent roommate instead of a husband.
I honestly feel like a whole new person. This weekend was just what I needed to get me through the crazy Christmas event season. Although I'm not scheduled in to work until Tuesday (I ostensibly have a 4/10 work week), I'm going in regardless to catch up on all of emails and phone calls that are surely piling up. I'll feel much more equipped to deal with all of the messiness of life and work after this very nearly perfect time off.
We turned down a friend's invitation to her family's big, crazy Thanksgiving dinner (with nine kids!) in favor of lounging around in our pjs and baking a pumpkin pie from scratch. We even eventually got ambitious enough to cook an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner for ourselves, but it was almost totally stress-free. Dinner was baked acorn squash, roasted carrots, rosemary mashed potatoes, and home-made cranberry sauce. (Brandon added baked chicken breasts for a bit of protein, of course.)
I did a little Black Friday shopping, but mostly wandered the stores and looked around. It was nowhere near as chaotic as I had feared, but you could tell that the early morning shoppers hadn't played around - the shelves in the big clothing stores were in complete shambles. Brandon and I went back on Saturday and encountered a positively laid-back atmosphere - I guess everyone was pretty successful in gift shopping on Friday?
On Friday night while Brandon slept in preparation for a 5:00 am rigging call, I finally took out the dress pattern that my mother-in-law had given me for last Christmas and I cut out all of the pieces. I hope to at least get it pinned to some muslin next weekend so I can try out the pattern without worrying just yet about ruining the lovely purple jersey knit that she also gave me.
Spending time with Brandon has been the best part of the weekend. Since his work schedule is even more hectic than mine, we've hardly spent any quality time at home together since August. It's been wonderful to cook and read and laze about with him. Tonight, we made snickerdoodles and worked on some of his sponsorship plans for the coming competition year. It's been great to actually have time to enjoy being married - I was starting to feel like I just had an absent roommate instead of a husband.
I honestly feel like a whole new person. This weekend was just what I needed to get me through the crazy Christmas event season. Although I'm not scheduled in to work until Tuesday (I ostensibly have a 4/10 work week), I'm going in regardless to catch up on all of emails and phone calls that are surely piling up. I'll feel much more equipped to deal with all of the messiness of life and work after this very nearly perfect time off.