Marvelous Thanksgiving at Home!

• December 1, 2014

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It’s been quite awhile since I did a Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM) post! It’s been quite a weekend away from Boston, back in Connecticut to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. I certainly ate and drank plenty, but I also didn’t let any bad feelings get me down and keep me from continuing to enjoy myself. Though I weigh more right now than I ever have in the last few years, I also felt happier and more fulfilled over the course of this long holiday weekend than any Thanksgiving I can remember in “recent” history. And that’s certainly marvelous!

Marvelous is…being able to drive home Tuesday night. Especially given the snow we got on Wednesday! I worked from home that day so was able to beat (a little) traffic by heading out of Boston around 8PM on Tuesday. Plus I had a car buddy – I gave my neighbor Molly a ride too. The 1.5 hour ride took 3 hours, but according to her that wasn’t nearly as much of a delay as she experienced last year. And I was home in time to accompany my dad and Nana Connie (yes she was back!) to get my sister from t he airport at midnight.

Marvelous is…getting in plenty of Healthrax step classes. The step at my gym in Boston (BSC) is VERY different than the type I did back in CT. I haven’t been able to get into it (it’s so choreographed that I fall behind and it’s tough to get my heart rate up) so it was great to be back and take some classes. So much fun! I went three times while I was home!

Marvelous are…mornings at Daybreak. I spent Wednesday and Saturday morning hanging out at my (still) favorite coffee shop Daybreak with the friends I’ve made there over the months. Man I missed that coffee! I have yet to find flavored coffee in Boston that I like as much as theirs.

Marvelous is…making it out for Thanksgiving Eve. The snowy and slippery weather certainly had me thinking for a bit that I wouldn’t make it to one of my favorite going-out nights of the year. But the snow let up and the roads got pretty clear, just in time for me to go out with old friends and run into a bunch of people I went to high school with. While some people like avoiding that situation, I find it to be great fun, and enjoyed myself immensely.

Marvelous is…spontaneously running the Manchester Road Race! I haven’t run it in a few years because I normally prefer to avoid that crowd (it’s the largest road race in CT) and do my own workout at the gym. But I’ll be honest, I woke up not only just in time to get dressed and leave with my family to get there, but also a bit hungover. And I felt like the cold would be just the way to “slap” the hangover out of me a bit. Well it did! I started the race out very slowly thanks all the runners. At one point I was looking for a side road just so I could get off the race course and do my own run! But I stuck with it and once I got past the first mile or so the crowd broke up a bit. I felt really good running the 4.7 mile race – that is the most I have run since the half marathon and starting (slash recently completing) my physical therapy! But to be real, the best cure for the hangover was also the beer I had after the race 😛

Marvelous is…a super-chill Thanksgiving in. I really loved going to J. Gilbert’s last year but ended up being glad we stayed in (though I still put on pants for dinner – I felt like I had to since it was a special occasion!) Mom made a bunch of sides but we had help from Whole Foods, and opted to get our cocktail shrimp (appetizer), turkey, veggies, and stuffing from them. I didn’t take any photos of my meal because Thanksgiving food is honestly way low on the list of food I enjoy eating, but everything was quite tasty and of course we had Ironside Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with our food. Ironside is another brand from the company I work for, Latitude Beverage Company (we also do 90+ Cellars). Yum!

We played Heads Up! after dinner, had dessert (man I love my mom’s banana pudding!), and I was asleep by 9:30PM. Yes I got very full, but I was in no way out of control and felt pretty OK about it! I was too relaxed and too busy having fun with my family to get down on myself and retreat into a shell like I have during past Thanksgivings.

Marvelous is…successful yet downplayed Black Friday shopping. I love love love Black Friday, but we didn’t go too hard this year. We left at 8AM, but the lines at our always-first stop Kohl’s weren’t too bad and they had plenty of good selections! But I also need to save more than I have needed to in previous years, now that I’m no longer living at home with my parents. So I only bought a couple of things – a way smaller haul than I’ve ever brought home!

Marvelous is…traditional Black Friday lunch with Dad. He always meets me, Hannah, and Nana Connie after we are done with our shopping and ready to chow! We chose Plan B for our lunch, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a salad on their menu with Brussels sprouts and kale! I almost ordered it with a veggie burger patty, but then Hannah ordered her burger with an egg and I was inspired to add an egg to the top of the salad instead. It’d been awhile since I had an egg-topped salad! Paired great with my IPA too!

Marvelous is…sneaking in a quick Black Friday workout. I went to the gym and hopped on the StairMaster for what was supposed to be 30 minutes. I made it through 26 and called it quits – I was really struggling. But my legs were sore from the previous day’s run, and my abs too from the end of Wednesday’s Step class, so I called it enough.

Marvelous is…reuniting with old friends. The last couple of Thanksgiving weekends we have gone to Chops N Catch for happy hour with my sister’s best friend Bari and her family. I’m glad the tradition stayed strong this year! I enjoyed my beloved J. Edwards Cabernet Franc, some deviled eggs and rolls, and most importantly good company.

Marvelous is…getting my night out with Nana C! We didn’t do our Thanksgiving Eve thing since she was a bit nervous about the road conditions that night, but after happy hour she and I headed to Rooftop (of course we did) along with Hannah, Bari, and Bari’s boyfriend. We had such fun! I also ran into a few people I know, as I so often do when I go out in my hometown during Thanksgiving weekend. And once again, I loved (not loathed) it.

Marvelous is…Tennessee beating Vanderbilt! After losing to them the last two years, and despite playing not-so-well, the Vols pulled off a win on Saturday and will hopefully be going to a bowl game. I didn’t watch the whole game because my dad was being a bit too negative for my liking, so I left the house right after halftime. But I’m happy for a win and hope a bowl game is in our future.

Marvelous is…one-on-one time with Kat. We met up for drinks Saturday night at Max’s Oyster Bar, but it turned into drinks and snacks thanks to her love for oysters, my love for Brussels sprouts, and some complimentary soup from Chef Hunter (formerly of Max Downtown).

Marvelous is…barely any traffic when heading back to Boston on Sunday. I was back in the city before 1PM, ready to polish up this post, do some work, and get unpacked and ready for the week!

How was your Thanksgiving? How did it compare to previous years in terms of allowing yourself to enjoy it?

Did you get to see any old friends, or family you hadn’t seen in awhile?

Did you have any delicious eats, whether part of or outside of Thanksgiving?