Woman in Real Life

As Christmas vacation comes to a close, I thought I'd take a look back at two lovely weeks. While the first few days of vacation took place prior to Christmas and so were a whirlwind of cleaning, cooking and other preparations, the time following Christmas was one of the most relaxing periods I have enjoyed in recent years.

There were a lot of late nights watching movies, a fair bit of sleeping in late and a great deal of time spent in pajamas throughout the day.



We were fortunate. Many people in our area spent the days just before and even during Christmas with no power as a result of the ice storm. Our street was unaffected and so we simply got to enjoy the beauty of the after-effects of the storm.


This should give you a clear illustration of just how much ice was involved. My son pulled this ice cap off of an evergreen tree in the front yard.


My little gal had a blast skating on the sidewalk. After the ice came plenty of snow, as you can see in the picture of our front walkway (above, right).

 
After Christmas, my husband spent time upgrading our cell phones and searching online for heavy-duty cases to protect the iPad minis the children got from their grandparents for Christmas. (Somebody also decided to quit shaving over the holidays.)


My mom and dad stayed with us for the holidays. Granny is something of a Candy Crush addict.


Grampy isn't into technology, but he enjoyed reading all the home decor magazines I have piled up around the house.


Growing up, this mistletoe hung from the entryway chandelier every Christmas. I use it in my house now. The kids had fun racing by it, tempting me to catch them underneath it.


Post-Christmas I worked at incorporating more stuff into the house - including a pile of new books.


Here are some of the tidbits that Santa brought me. I also got lots (and lots) of chocolate and cookies.

 
Handmade gifts are the best. We got this lovely cutting board and serving knife from a friend. Have a look at his amazing, one-of-a-kind bowls.


The kids got a lot of crafty gifts from Santa, including a chemistry set. My girl enjoyed making a little volcano.

It's back to school for the kids and the husband on Monday, and I have a couple of writing deadlines looming myself. Vacation is just about over, but I can't complain. We were so fortunate to have two full weeks to enjoy family, friends, gifts and leisure.

How did you spend your vacation?