*gobble gobble*

It has been an interesting holiday weekend. Tuesday I worked from 6 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., then my friend and I woke up at 2 a.m. to drive for ten hours up to Minnesota. When we arrived, I got the marriage application processed (with some problems, the entire system was down, oy!), then went to the depot where my grandma was waiting to tour with us. I had to make a lot of decisions on very little sleep, but I think everything will work out. Then my parents took me out to eat at the New Scenic Cafe. Great little restaurant but very expensive. It is good to see some nicer restaurants opening along the North Shore though! We returned to start picking out recipes and get my hair done (which didn't happen…).

On Thanksgiving we made a quick run to the grocery store before the crazy lines, and I started cooking right away. We made dinner at my parents' house because my grandma wasn't feeling well, and my mom has a broken toe so couldn't assist much. I cooked most of the day; the menu included: sour cream corn, mashed potatoes and apples with thyme, pineapple smokies, mushroom crescents, festive strawberry nut salad, stuffing with cranberries, turkey gravy, pumpkin and cherry pies, and rosemary garlic basted turkey. My dad deep fried a turkey as well; very juicy until it cooled down. My mom's kitchen is still under construction, so I was missing a lot of essential cooking/baking tools that made it a bit more challenging…

Friday I tried to take it easy and just get my hair done, but my dad decided to guilt trip me into taking leftovers to my grandma. I lost two hours to that, then grew increasingly frustrated with my stylist's inability to do a simple hairstyle. When she stepped out for a minute, I ended up calling another close friend of the family who squeezed me in the hour before we had to leave and had it done in twenty minutes exactly how I wanted it. I was very happy and relieved to get a solid hair stylist, and the other stylist is still doing everyone's hair but mine and the bridesmaids, so all is well.

Driving back, we ended up in the wrong direction for a while and lost an hour, so I didn't get to bed until after 1 a.m. My friend had to leave by 6:30 a.m., so I woke up at 6 and couldn't get back to sleep. I finally finished The Historian, a great novel (although the ending was very anti-climactic, sadly, and was thrown together haphazardly *sigh*), and I have started Enchantment (after a good three hour nap of course!). Today has been a catch up day of sorts. Doesn't feel like I got much of a weekend or vacation, and I still have work to do. At least I got some reading in for a change. 🙂