Thanksgiving 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I headed to Amesbury to celebrate Thanksgiving. For the first time in awhile, Nik didn’t join me, but I met Mandi and my mom there to celebrate the holiday with Memere, Pepere, and Sasha. It was  a much smaller group than usual, but it was a fabulous, perfect vacation, as always! I got to spend so much time with some of my favorite people, doing my favorite things, in my favorite places, and eating my favorite foods!

Mandi, Sasha, and I ran a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I was really nervous about it, as I had never run in such cold weather and I hadn’t quite made it yet to 3 miles, so it was a longer run than I’d ever done. But it was fantastic!! Although my recurring muscle pain struck around mile 1.5 and we had to walk for a bit, I did better than I thought I would do, and it was SO MUCH FUN. The course was beautiful, amongst all the New England houses, along the coast, in all the fall leaves!! A special thanks to Mandi, who modified her pace to stay with me so that we could do the whole thing together. Here we are before the race. There was ice on the ground–it was cold!! (What a great excuse it was to spend exorbitant money on a Lululemon jacket.)

And crossing the fnish line! We had no idea where Memere and my mom were, and we knew they’d be snapping pictures, so we smiled constantly for the last half mile!

The rest of Thanksgiving day was wonderful. Memere performed wonders in the kitchen, and we each helped with a dish (I made corn pudding). The rest of the trip was busy with our usual activities and some new ones, including a trip to Ogunquit, outlet shopping, going out to eat, exploring Amesbury, and a holiday stroll in New Hampshire…

A perfect way to kick off the holiday season. I can’t wait until next year!