Let me start off by saying that I hope everyone had a great holiday! I hope it was filled with friends, family, and feasting. Mine sure was! After working a half day on Wednesday, I drove to the Philadelphia Airport and hopped on a plane to Atlanta, Georgia to see my Aunt Christine, Uncle Steve, and cousins Maddie and Jon. My parents and brother had flown down earlier in the morning. Being the night before Thanksgiving, the plane with packed with people (and a baby named Malcolm who sat directly behind me and alternately ate pasta and screamed just for the sake of screaming through the whole flight). I landed around 8:30 pm and my dad and Aunt Christine picked me up. I haven't seen this part of my mom's family in about 4 years, so it was really awesome to get to spend a few days with them!
Wednesday Night Dinner:
We arrived at their house around 9:30, and a delicious dinner of homemade Chicken and Oyster Gumbo was awaiting my empty stomach. This was the first time I have ever had gumbo, and it was a hit. I will be getting this recipe and making it myself for sure! Served over fluffy white rice with Sister Shubert rolls for dipping (seriously, the best rolls I've ever had!), it couldn't have been better.
Other highlights of this dinner: Got to see my parents and brother for the first time in almost 2 months!
Thursday:
TURKEY DAY! My mom, Christine, Maddie and I went out for a brisk Thanksgiving Day walk (a tradition in their family). We brought their dog Sandy along, and I had a lot of fun chatting with Maddie while we tried to keep up with our intensely-power-walking moms.
Next up, a "grazing" lunch of spiral ham sandwiches, and shrimp cocktail while Uncle Steve cooked the turkey on the Big Green Egg! And the rest of us decorated and helped cook the sides (I can't take any credit on the cooking, but I did assist with the decorating). Later on, my cousin Lynn and her partner Tracy joined us for dinner, and brought some super tasty Lemon Artichoke dip.
Highlights of Turkey Day Feasting:
- My brother's witty humor. While discussing the "presidential ruler" my dad bought on our Washington, D.C. trip years ago:
- Dad: What year was John Adams president? If only we had the presidential ruler!
- Joe: Well I can't tell you what year he was president, but I can tell you he was 4 inches.
- My appetizer-table centerpieces going up in flames when the candle burned down to the decorative raffi tie, whilst I was standing directly in front of them texting away, completely unaware.
- Hanging out in the kitchen with all the ladies after dinner, helping clean things up. Mom washing dishes, turns on garbage disposal:
- Christine: OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOINGG!!!!
- Michelle, Lynn, Mom, and Tracy (thinking to ourselves): HOLY CRAP something is going to explode out of the garbage disposal and kill us all!
- Christine: DON'T YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CAST IRON SKILLETS?!?!? YOU CAN'T USE SOAP!!!!! I've been seasoning that thing for 7 years!!!!!!!
- Mom (probably almost in tears): Um, oh, ok...I'm sorry!
- Lynn, Michelle, and Tracy (in tears of laughter): Bahahahahahaha
- Dessert. Enough said. I actually had to have a dessert intervention with Christine when there was still no dessert in my belly at 10 pm. I couldn't wait any longer!
- A visit from some more of my mom's family (Sarah, Jeff, Jimmy and Sue).
Cousins Jon and Maddie, and brother Joe
Friday:
We started out working off our Thanksgiving Feast with a hike up nearby Kennesaw Mountain. It was rather refreshing for me to see an actual mountain after 2 months in the land of no hills. If only Murphy had been there to enjoy the day with us!
A hill.
Next up: a reunion with my bestest buddy, Jenny! She was staying with her sister for the holiday in Sandy Springs, and of course we planned an epic reunion. After pampering ourselves with a manicure with Christine, Maddie, and my mom, we headed over to her sister Natalie's house to catch up and hang out with Natalie and her little munchkin, Ella! Nothing has changed in past year since Jenny and I have seen each other! Later on, we picked up Joe and the 4 of us went to check out Fado, an Irish pub in Buckhead for dinner and drinks. And it was epic!
Highlights of the night:
- Blue Cheese lamb sliders. Yum!
- Blueberry muffin shots (Actually not that great. Tasted like licking the floor of a bakery. With vomit on it).
- Laughing so much my abs (or lack thereof) hurt! Jenny tells a story about one of our animal science classes in college:
- Natalie: Did you say horse semen? HAHAHA
- Michelle: There is no situation in which horse semen is not humorous.
- Joe, who had previously ignored our pleas to come dance with us, suddenly breaks out his dance moves to Gangnam Style. In a peacoat.
- Jenny rolls down a hill in the parking lot in slow motion while the rest of us watch and laugh hysterically.
An awesome night out with some awesome people!
Saturday:
What is the best thing to do after a night of drinking (especially for someone like me who rarely drinks?) A brewery tour, of course! I normally love touring breweries, but my stomach was feeling a bit testy after having a few drinks the night before, so alas, I was not able to enjoy Sweetwater Brewing Company as much as I had hoped! It was still a fun experience, and I got a sweet beer glass to take home. For $10, they give you the glass, a tour, and 6 tickets to sample any of the beer that they have on tap that day. A whole glassful! Most other tours I have been on only give you a small cup with which to sample. Not Sweetwater...They fill it right up to the tippy-top!
Highlights of the tour:
- Tour Guide: Who is drinking the Sweetwater Blue right now?
- Dad, Joe, and about 50% of the tour group: Woohooo!!
- Tour Guide: Congratulations, you are drinking the wussiest beer we make!
- Tour Guide: If you drank 1 gallon of beer from this tank every day, it would take you about 80 years to finish the tank.
- Joe: Challenge accepted.
Sweet sign.
After a short siesta, my mom, Maddie, Christine and I headed out again to see Maddie's friend perform in The Nutcracker with her dance company. I have never been to a ballet before, and it was quite magical! I was seriously impressed with Maddie's 14 year-old friend, who is incredibly talented and had a major part in the ballet.
I definitely was not ready for this trip to end by Sunday morning when I had to head to the airport. It was wonderful to spend time with my family, and see my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Hopefully it won't be too long until we see them again! And of course it was wonderful to see my buddy Jenny and reminisce about our crazy college days. However, I did miss BearFace and Murphles, so it was a bittersweet homecoming!
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