AuburnChick's Adventures

Phew! Y’all, it took me a hot minute to recover after our last round of company left Thanksgiving weekend.

I had absolutely zero energy to blog.

Z-e-r-o.

So, here we are with two weeks of catching up to do.

Thanksgiving Week

The college gave employees all of Wednesday through Friday off, so I had time to get things ready for my company.

But first – PT that Wednesday. My right shoulder was a hot mess that week, so we tried a prescription patch with electrodes to get the pain in check.

My physical therapist added prescription liquid to activate the electrodes.

I felt the patch working immediately and had relief from my pain for a few hours. This allowed me to prepare two desserts for the next day.

First up was a Vegan Chocolate Pie – a recipe I’ve made before that is absolutely decadent.

I even took the time to prepare the crust from scratch.

It always comes together easily and is a beauty when it’s finished.

My son and his little family arrived late-evening the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

They scarfed down the fried chicken the Mr. had picked up, and then Little Miss and I settled in for a hour of play time. She was not happy to go to bed. She hadn’t had enough NatNat time.

Be still my heart.

My daughter-in-law got busy preparing a cheesecake – her speciality – after E went to bed.

We had to taste test the No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes I’d prepared earlier in the day.

They were incredible!

Thanksgiving Day started early. I made sure my table was set, but instead of using my fancy china, I opted for decorative paper plates. With ten people eating, I wanted an easy cleanup.

I have shared photos of my kitchen before. It’s my favorite room in my house. My island is huge, which is always perfect for big feasts. Instead of putting the food on the table, as I’ve done in the past, I decided to line everything up on the island to make serving ourselves easier.

Our families divvy up the cooking, which I was especially thankful for this year with both shoulders still recovering from their respective surgeries.

The Mr. smoked a turkey breast this year. It was the first time he’d done this, so he was nervous. Everyone said it turned out great!

My sister brought burnt turkey ends from a local eatery.

I was told these were similar to pulled pork.

The dogs were exhausted from all of the company.

My son’s dog is four months old and is quite the hoot. He is ALL puppy and into everything.

We watched a lot of football, and I played outside with E all afternoon. It was a great day!

Friday, we ran a couple of errands before my daughter-in-law’s parents arrived. They usually come down during Thanksgiving and stay at the Mr.‘s parents’ house. They live in our neighborhood, so it’s very convenient.

We had everyone over again for leftovers. It was a wild time.

Little Miss and I played inside most of the day. The temperature had dipped; it was cold!

Saturday, we ran downtown to do a tiny bit of shopping and take in the crowds, which had arrived in force for the Iron Bowl.

My DIL’s birthday was Sunday, and she wanted her little girl and my son to pick out a gift for her at a boutique she loves.

After a quick lunch back home, the other grandparents began their journey home, and my son’s crew packed up as well. They live over three hours away and wanted to get back in time to watch the game.

The Mr. and I ran around the house like maniacs as soon as they pulled out of the driveway to prepare for the game, which we had tickets for.

I decided to forgo fashion for comfort given the frigid game-time temperatures that had been in the news all week. I was sporting a snazzy pair of Lululemon leggings under those loose blue jeans. The sneakers were for warmth.

We visited a friend’s tailgate and got to see the flyover, which was done early since it was going to be dark at game time.

The lines to get into the stadium were super long over an hour before the game, and since I don’t like missing the pre-game festivities, we decided to skip going to a second tailgate.

I never tire of the traditions.

Night games are the absolute best!

The game was actually solid, and we thought we might have a chance, but in the end, we just couldn’t pull out the win. The Mr. and I didn’t say a word on the way back to the car. It had been a tough season. We didn’t get home until after 11, and I went on a cleaning spree, so my head didn’t hit the pillow until after midnight.

Sigh.

Sunday, we got up for church and listened to the last in the annual series that our church always presents – each week’s message based on a movie.

The Mr. and I were wiped out by the time we got home and took a rare nap to prepare for an evening we were going spend at our siblings’ house (remember that my sister is married to my husband’s brother).

Y’all, that was just Thanksgiving week!!!

Are you as tired as I am just recounting the fun?

The Monday after Thanksgiving was rough.

I was exhausted, and I walked into a computer mess at work. Many of our systems were messed up, so getting things done was challenging. It took the powers that be until mid-Tuesday to get things buttoned up.

I felt like I was behind the eight ball all week.

I had an eye appointment scheduled for Thursday, but the doctor’s office had to change the appointment, so that was one thing off of my plate.

I got home Wednesday and discovered this . . .

The Mr. had bought a small tree for our den and had decorated it.

He added a new tree skirt (because he didn’t want to dig through Christmas decoration boxes) the next day.

We spent the week ordering gifts, having various gifts sent directly to my girl (and her hubby at his job) because having kids who live in different cities requires a lot of coordination and a bit of sneakiness.

Just sayin’.

The Mr. and I started our advent puzzle.

We also squeezed in a visit to a recently-opened sushi bar.

My poke bowl was the best I’ve ever had. That’s tofu, prepared in thin squares, on the top.

I ate leftovers for three days.

Friday, we bid farewell to one of our students.

She’s been with us for two and a half years and will graduate Saturday. She was my work daughter, and I’m truly going to miss her.

I’d planned for a slow Saturday to recover, and that is just what I did.

My house looked like this Saturday morning . . .

The Mr. wasn’t awake yet, so I watched a couple episodes of Survivor. I’m almost finished with Season 18. Who remembers Coach? Oh, and I figured out that one of that season’s contestants was the principal of a middle school in town. How cool is that?

I stayed in my pajamas all day and only changed to a clean pair after a quick shower. It was divine

I started a knitting project after getting the idea to make E a scarf in her favorite color.

When she was here for Thanksgiving, she’d borrowed one of mine to keep her warm.

I dug in my stash and found this skein of yarn. There’s no telling what I originally bought it for or how long I’ve had it.

I am loving this pattern, which is from The Yarn Harlot.

It’s working up very quickly. I may try to make a pair of mittens to go with it.

I am trying to pace myself with this knitting project because I don’t want to make my shoulder more sore than it already is. That happened in the spring when I tried to start knitting again. I learned the hard way that repetitive motions aggravate shoulder injuries.

Sunday, we attended church, and then I prepared a batch of my ginger-turmeric juice.

I’d been out a couple of days but hadn’t been able to muster up the energy to make it.

I think I heard my immune system singing happy songs when I finished.

I also prepped a pot of black bean soup from this book . . .

That’s the book that started my vegan journey (it’s not touted as a vegan diet, but it actually is).

The soup is my absolute favorite. I’ve made it countless times.

And that, my friends, recaps the precious two weeks.

I’m trying to catch up on my blog reading, so please forgive my lapse in getting to you and even responding to comments.

Our revolving door of visitors, along with the early descent of darkness each day and the rainy weather had me all in a dither. I think I’m finally back to normal after this weekend of purposeful rest.

Y’all have a wonderful week!

Filed under: This-n-That |