Sunday, November 30, 2008

Key learnings, food comas and holiday shopping

I still am full from Thanksgiving. Is that even possible? Although, I did eat more in 24 hours than I normally do in a week, so that's probably why I feel like a beached whale. But it's the holidays, so it's time to get the elastic waist pants on and relax.

And here are some of the key learnings I experienced this holiday weekend. I do love going home to enjoy the non-city way of life :)

Key Learnings:
  • In Wisconsin, Packer gear and Virginia Slims are frequently seen accessories
  • It's okay to nap between Thanksgiving dinners when you have more than one in a single day
  • Pushing shoppers to get to the last Gap thermal long sleeve shirt in your size is okay
  • When starving while shopping, it's acceptable to hit the free Ghiradelli samples more than once (saves money)
  • Booze is a requirement at Thanksgiving. No booze means people are less uninhibited and conversation can be more forced
  • Driving is a lot of fun, especially when you don't have a car in the city
  • Squirrels are evil
  • My neighborhood is like an episode of Animal Planet. Possums walking down the street and fat squirrels, oh my!
  • Putting cooked food outside overnight is equivalent to putting it in the refrigerator, except animals can move around it
  • Staying with your parents is not like living alone in a bigger apartment. Close the bathroom door when it's in use and cover yourself up more
  • Whenever I go home, I will never get to relax right away. Within 10 minutes of arriving at home, I always hear "Jess time to do chores, put your shoes on"
Overall, my four-day weekend was a mix of productivity and relaxation. As I mentioned earlier, I have two Thanksgivings in one day. I go visit my grandparents around noon and then have dinner with my dad and stepmom in the evening. Thanks to some pre-holiday overeating and stomach stretching, the second meal wasn't too bad, but two big meals in one day, is a lot for me to handle. It's so good but doesn't feel so good when your stomach is totally overfed.

Fortunately, grandma did not insult me this year. Rather, she said I'm very pretty, which is sweet. Things at my evening Thanksgiving got a little ugly, with the traditional family fighting, which lead to me hiding out upstairs watching a movie with my piece of pie. Some things never change.

The rest of my four-day relaxing weekend was focused on getting my Christmas list all ready for dad (including links to specific items and style numbers, if appropriate) and getting ideas for people on my list this year. I have gift ideas for just about half the people on my list, but I have not found a gift for everyone just yet. 

Of course, my shopping bug from Friday hasn't deteriorated and with deals like, "buy one, get one 50 percent off," I'm more than supporting the economy. But I'm ready to stop focusing on me and getting gifts checked off my list. I think once the list is filled in, I need a day off to knock everything out. Once I get started, I hate to stop midstream.

Here's a picture of the new berry-colored Coach gloves that I bought on Friday. They are super soft and I really love the color. I will be breaking them out this week!


So how was everyone else's long weekend? I hope everyone travels safe, especially in the Midwest, where we're supposed to get six inches of snow tonight. Ick.

36 comments:

SA said...

Your new gloves are fantastic. Jealous. :)

I agree, squirrels are evil. Evil little bastards.

Mandy said...

Love those new gloves. And yeah, I agree when you run out of room in the fridge, outside works just as well. LOL.

erin said...

love your gloves!

i really hope we don't get that much snow. i will cry.

LBluca77 said...

I think it is so cool when people live in big cities and don't have a car. Unfortunately city living in California always requires a car. I wish I didn't need a car.

I love the gloves, especially the color.

Dash said...

i love suburbia with all its quirks and eccentricities! yourthanksgiving weekend sounded like all its supposed to be...and i reckon one of the things u gotta be thankful for is the new pink gloves.... LOVE them..

Maki said...

I don't know why but I almost fell asleep twice while listening to my family chatting this holiday weekend because I'm still full from Thanksgiving. And as you know, my Thankgving was very scandalous. LOL

Very nice gloves - Don't you love it when you find a nice pair of gloves that would keep you warm? :)

Stay warm, Jess!!

bianca said...

Pink coach gloves?! Fabulous!

I'm glad you had a nice break. I had to do a lot of studying during my time off, but I did appreciate sleeping in. And keep me posted about the snow, I need to prepare myself for the upcoming trip home!

Anonymous said...

Love those gloves.

Glad you had a nice long weekend.

Naps are definitely the best and absolutely okay in my book at anytime.

PS- I just started following you on Twitter...I am Jesslaw (the link to my blog isn't on there so I wanted to make sure you knew it was me) haha.

Anonymous said...

It's entirely possible to still be full from Thanksgiving. I am and as such, I can't wait to get back on the gym routine tomorrow.

Snow. Yuck. Not looking forward to my commute Detroit-style tomorrow :-(

Anonymous said...

haha.. Virginia Slims...


love the new gloves!

Living Dees Life said...

i'm sad my packers aren't doing so well..

i miss going to my grandma's in TN for turkey day, she passed away when I was 16.

joe and i did turkey day by ourselves this weekend. it was absolutely wonderful --altho a little boring being just us... it almost seriously didn't feel like thanksgiving. but it was wonderful to start our traditions in our new little family.

L.C.T. said...

TWO thanksgiving dinners? Lucky you :)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad your grandma didn't insult you this year.

Kyla Bea said...

Amazing gloves! What is it you do for a living again? lol I want in!

I'm sorry that the family got out of control, but being able to sneak away is key. And after the next round of holidays you're home free for a while!

thatShortchick said...

the gloves are so pretty! such an awesome color.

EP said...

I love the new gloves! Those look like the kind I need for work. Putting them on the wish list now..

The same thing happens to me as soon as I get home, too. No relaxation. I've got to take care of things. Oh well.

Glad you had a good long weekend!

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

Those gloves look heavenly. And in such an ice colour too. I only own brown or black...

Anonymous said...

1) I love your gloves.

2) I always do my shopping all at once, too. It's a full 8 hour day just for the shopping. It controls my spending, too, because I get freaked out when I realize how much I might spend in one day. Though I did get up early for the Black Friday shopping madness and bought a few things for the gift list. But mostly we bought for ourselves -- we bought a Wii and games and accessories for it!

3) I don't know how you can have TWO thanksgivings. My stomach was so full after one!

Rachel said...

Snow sucks

If I had your gloves I would like it more

Katie said...

those gloves make me wish it snowed here - almost. they are just too fab!

Katelin said...

i agree that naps are so necessary in between meals, haha.

and love the gloves, super cute.

Lauren Elizabeth said...

Umm, yeah. Had tons of fun scraping my car and brushing off snow this morning.

Pretty gloves!

Gretchen Alice said...

I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving! *Gorgeous* gloves.

Preston said...

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We cooked our turkey outside on the grill and it turned out perfect. We had no family fighting and everybody laughed and had fun. Best Thanksgiving for me in years!

jamie said...

Great gloves! Pretty color! Love love love!

Mine was shitty, but salvageable!

xxxo!

Anonymous said...

I love your pretty gloves! So many good sales going on today too. I need to stay away!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Should I be concerned that your bullet about drinking at Thanksgiving is just before your bullet about driving?

Megkathleen said...

Squirrels are evil! There was an especially fat one at my parents on Turkey day that stared at us through the kitchen window while me made dinner - it was very creepy! My poor little nephew was frightened.

Jenny Grace said...

My uncle's wife has a pet squirrel named Sprite. It crawls around on her back under her shawl.

It's creepy.

Dusty @AllThingsG+D said...

Ah yes--Packer gear is the new black when it comes to WI fashion. Glad to hear you had a good Thanksgiving. And love those gloves!

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