Two of Five

Number 2 of 5 days off, that is. Yesterday got off to a rocky start- I got a terrible night's sleep, and then woke up (too early) to find that the cat had peed on the dog's bed. Filthy creature. Fortunately, things only got better from there. I had some coffee and eggs and swept off to a yoga class, feeling very satisfied that I was out of the house before 9 a.m. After class I ran a few errands, including scoring an awesome Christmas gift by happenstance, before joining E, her brother, sister, sister-in-law, nephew, and two nieces for lunch.

E and I passed the afternoon pleasantly with some Christmas music and gift wrapping, then I went out to get a haircut. Our evening was topped off with our friend's annual birthday wing extravaganza at the Mall of America Hooters. Yes, you read that correctly. This year, there were 8 gay fellas, E & I, and 10 dozen wings. Tradition holds that we must avail ourselves of some wacky Mall of America entertainment afterwards. Past selections have included the mirror maze and indoor mini golf. This year, the birthday boy selected a rollercoaster. I sat that one out ("I'll hold the coats!") and was glad I did, considering how green everyone looked afterwards. Maybe next year we'll stick to the Build-A-Bear workshop.

One of my errands yesterday was to pick up ingredients for our contribution to Christmas dinner. For the past few years, E's mom has adopted a tradition of serving lasagna on the holiday. Everyone likes it, and she can prepare it in advance instead of spending the morning fussing over a roast or something. Since I'm skipping the pasta these days, we offered to bring a paleo lasagna to add to the feast. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe, with some bonus italian sausage added to the sauce.

These are probably my last quiet moments for a few days-- shortly, we are heading off to E's aunt & uncle's house for an extended family gathering. We'll have a few hours at home this evening (egg nog tasting time!) and tomorrow morning before we pack up and go to E's parents house through Wednesday. Off to chop onions for the lasagna! If I don't manage a post tomorrow, happy holidays to all who are celebrating!