M. I. A.

Whew!  It's been a while!  I took a few days off work and didn't step foot near a computer.  It was really nice!  Okay, so highlights from my days off...

Wednesday
I slept in (as much as I can with my goofy morning-person dogs!), cleaned and made my contribution for Thanksgiving, then headed to my parents' house to help prepare to host 50+ people for Thanksgiving.  My aunt and her boyfriend came in from Chicago and we went out to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants.  It was nice to spend some quiet time with out of town family before all the craziness hit for the holiday!  We decided that Man would join my family for Thanksgiving, despite it being crazy fast in the relationship.  Yikes!

Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving!  I made last minute preparations for guests (made lactose-free mashed potatoes for Man) and tidied up the house before Man arrived and we went to my parents' house house.  The day was insane, with so many people packed into the house, but it was a beautiful day and many people spent a portion of the day outside.  Generally Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday, but this was definitely the best I can remember.  I can't tell you how many people pulled my aside to say they thought Man is a keeper!

Friday
I spent most of the day at home, recovering from my food coma and sleeping off the allergy-induced aches and pains.  I just couldn't resist all the goodies on Thursday, and was really regretting it Friday.  Still, it was nice to snuggle up on the couch with my pups, even if they did bring a deer head into my back yard.  Gross! At least they didn't try to bring it in the house.  That evening I went to my friend's house to help her put up her Christmas tree.  It was a comedy of errors, that included an impromptu Lowe's trip to buy her a new tree.  What a mess, but such fun!

Saturday
I drove up to Indy to see Man and we spent the day together.  We went out to lunch, he showed me his new house (he won't move in until late this week) and where he grew up, and he cooked me a delicious dinner.  He had planned to spend Thanksgiving by himself (his parents aren't around and his ex had the kids for this holiday) so he had bought a mini turkey and made all the fixings.  Since he spent Thanksgiving with my family instead, that's what we had Saturday.  I must say, he's a pretty good cook!  I stayed out way too late, but had an amazing day.

Sunday
I went to brunch with some out of town family before they headed home, then went home to spend some time with the pups.  I worked on making some new dog food and before I knew it, my friend had shown up to help me put up my Christmas tree.  Once again, many problems and a Lowe's trip were involved, but as always, we had a blast.  At one point I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face, and I love that my house is now a winter wonderland!  We determined that this will be a yearly tradition for us, since it's so much more fun to have a partner with whom to decorate.  Last year we were both newly-non-moms, and neither of us put up a Christmas tree.  This year we were reminded of how our foster kids were in awe of the trees, and we shared memories of Christmas with our kids, but we also looked forward to making new memories with family, friends, and hopefully some day, with new kids.