no-tech turkey day

Almost five days spent off the grid, and boy did it feel good. Jason and I left for Washington, D.C. to visit his family last Wednesday morning (at 4:45 am to be exact... yikes!) and a part of me had every intention of documenting our whole thanksgiving production. I pictured myself capturing fallen leaves on neighborhood streets and family candids throughout the weekend. However, the second I touched down in D.C., all I wanted to do was just be.


Given all the hoopla of the week before and my celiac debacle, all I wanted to do was spend time with family and enjoy every moment of one of my favorite holidays. I was a little sad I couldn't be with my immediate family on Thanksgiving day (due to the schedules of my aunts, uncles and cousins, Jason and I decided to spend this year with his family and next year with mine,) but I still think of his gang as my own and so I certainly felt surrounded by love and happiness.

So rather than keep the whole world up to date on my happenings through Facebook, Twitter, and this blog, instead I opted to stay as disconnected as possible and soak up each present moment. Looking back I'm so glad I did because I didn't feel any pressure to package up my experiences in a social-media-friendly way. I didn't have to sneak away from family game time to upload a post, and for once I was less concerned about what I was going to Instagram and more concerned about which pie to choose for dessert. (Apple, in case you were wondering. Kim makes a KILLER apple pie from scratch.)

So these are the only photos I took throughout the entire weekend. It hardly captures the spirit, but just know that LOTS of games were played, LOTS of food was eaten, and LOTS of belly-laughs were had. Notice we didn't even manage to get one of the whole family. Whoops. I guess that over-stuffed suitcase of cute outfits I intended as photo options was a bit unnecessary then, huh...

Is it weird that when I look at that photo all I see is a headless turkey on its back tanning? Anybody else or is it just me?

Anyway, now that I'm back from my disconnected holiday, here's a little update on what I've been up to lately...

// My new blog design is about 75% done. My developer, Pat, is THE MAN and worked on it over Thanksgiving. Boy does it pay to have talented and generous friends. As soon as I know when it will be up, I will certainly let all you peeps know. Can't wait to hear what you think!

// Speaking of new blogs, I've been doing a little website coding of my own over the holiday. I'm helping a friend design her first blog, and can't wait to show you guys when it's done. This whole design passion has just developed within the past year or so and I'm learning so so much. I hope it shows some of you out there that you don't have to go to school or get formal training for something that you love - just start learning and doing and if you want it badly enough, your skills will develop over time.

// Christmas shopping! I feel as though shopping the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals is like making a deal with the devil BUT it appears I have finally learned my lesson about last minute holiday shopping. I got a good chunk out of the way this weekend and it feels good. Now I can focus on decorating the house a bit. This is our first year getting a tree, so look out for that plus holiday decorating posts soon!

// Again, thanks so much to everyone for all the support with my post last week on my health. To give you a quick update, I found a gastroenterologist that came highly recommended and have an appointment with him on the 4th. Until then I have to keep eating gluten so that the tests can bring back an accurate diagnosis. This is good news for my inner fat kid (I got to eat all the delicious gluten-filled Thanksgiving items I wanted) and bad news for my entire body. (I paid for said delicious items with an stomach ache all of Saturday.)

Alright, that's it for now! How was everyone else's Turkey Day? Did you guys get as stuffed as I did? And if you know of any killer Cyber Monday deals, feel free to share the wealth in the comments!