Wednesday Weekend Wind-Up: Thanksgiving

Hey y'all. This might be my first weekend recap post in a while that doesn't almost entirely revolve around food. Except that we'll start out with a little bit. :-P So, last week was a short week due to Thanksgiving, and we got out of work early on Wednesday, so we went to Ruth's Parkside Cafe for a late lunch. We love their Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Tempeh Reuben - and I can't forget their delicious Gooey Butter Cake. Perfect meal right there.

We had debated driving up to Chicago Wednesday night, but Francisco talked me out of it and we ended up heading up Thanksgiving morning. Of course, that left me feeling very frazzled as we left the house. I had decided that I wanted to pop in on my cousin, so I was texting her and trying to get a feel for what everyone in their house was up to so I wouldn't be a total intrusion. I love little surprises, but I know not everyone else appreciates people unexpectedly showing up at their homes lol.

After that, we headed over to my Grandpa's house, but we weren't there for very long. It was maybe an hour or so, and then we grabbed my brother and headed to my mother-in-law's. Dinner conversation seemed to take an interesting direction here, but all-in-all, it was a good time - and the food was delicious! My MIL made some broccoli quinoa that was delicious. My brother had been in a car accident on Wednesday and didn't have a car, so we drove him home and then hit the road ourselves.

I was starting to get pretty tired after not much more than an hour or so of driving, so we ended up stopping at a hotel. But I could not sleep. I was up for literally hours, tired but just not falling asleep. I hate those bouts of insomnia so much. I knew I had to work Friday, so I was feeling kind of anxious about knowing I'd have to wake up in a few hours. I dozed fitfully until Francisco dropped something in the bathroom and I woke up for good. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then finished our drive home where he dropped me off right at the hospital. I had forgotten to bring my badge, so I couldn't go my normal route through the stairwells and I couldn't even get on the unit. Luckily, I can just take the elevators, and I don't need my badge to get to my office. It just makes you feel off not having the access you normally do to your workplace.

I was soooo exhausted, so we didn't do much of anything after work Friday. Francisco had made a delicious Biscoff Pumpkin Cheesecake, so we were munching on that all weekend. Saturday was our day of decorating the house for Christmas. And we are definitely in trouble. This cat is a monster. He was all up in everything...until he collapsed in a pile of paper and boxes that had been tossed aside as we unpacked everything..but then he was refreshed and ready to be a terror again.

The worrying part is that he's actually been eating the pine needles and making himself sick. We've tried a variety of sprays to deter him, and I'm hoping we avoid an emergency trip to the vet at this rate. :(

Could these cats look any happier?