I’ve been so tired lately but four days off of work with no real plans was just what the doctor ordered. I wouldn’t call the weekend relaxing necessarily as it was very go-go-go, but it was certainly rejuvenating!

Here are a few pictures from my weekend…

I started the long weekend off with my first trail run in ages. I was treated to amazing views coupled with some brutal hill climbing that made me really miss trail running. I can’t wait to get back into it after the marathon! And the beautiful sunshine stuck around every day this weekend. It made me so happy! I even got a bit of a sunburn on my cheeks during my long run on Sunday.

Eric and I (mostly Eric) also got to work on our backyard reno’s. He ripped up our old deck and we purchased all the lumber for a new deck and fence. Eric also painted the new boards last night. All that’s left is actually building the deck and fence! We are just waiting on a waiver from our strata corporation before we start. I can’t wait to have a fully fenced in yard and big new deck for grilling on this summer – we’re going from an 8 x 10 deck to an 11 x 12 one!

Spring cleaning also happened (again mostly by Eric!) Here is Chloe watching him clean out our storage room. She was too lazy to stand there so sat her butt down on the top step of the stairs. Haha.

Sunday morning I got in a killer 18 mile (29 km) run on a GORGEOUS new trail. More on that in tomorrow’s week 14 recap!

My grandparents have been here camping on there way back from spending the winter in Arizona so my grandma made us an amazing Easter feast on Sunday. It consisted of cabbage rolls (veg for me), mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, coleslaw, brussel sprouts and cheese sauce, roasted carrots, fresh buns and lemon meringue, apple pie and ice cream for dessert!

Our freezer is also now full of frozen cabbage rolls so Eric and I will eat well for the next few weeks.

I ended my long weekend by spending yesterday morning in bed reading blogs and doing some wedding research and then in the afternoon I went for a hike with Bronwyn and Chloe, to a hot power yoga class and for coffee with Meghan. When I got home I helped Eric make dinner for my grandparents; handmade pasta with shrimp and prawns in an alfredo sauce. Also to die for delicious.

Oh, and for the first time in weeks there are not piles and piles of clean and dirty laundry. It is all clean, folded and put away.

Yup, a 4-day weekend at home was just what I needed!

How was your weekend? Did anyone else have a long weekend for Easter?

Why hello there! My absence lasted two days longer than I planned on it. We didn’t get back to Kamloops until late Tuesday night and yesterday was extremely busy with a morning of snowboarding and an afternoon of boxing week shopping, grocery shopping and errand running.

Anyways, I typed this post up last weekend after getting the idea from Caitlin’s blog. Here is a “day in the life” style post based on what I did Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve:

9:45 am – finally roll out of bed. I took a muscle relaxant for my tweaked back the night before and was so sleepy this morning. I literally could not pull myself out of bed!

10:30 am – eat a buttertart for breakfast and then some of the egg/hashbrown skillet my mom made. Putter around my mom’s house doing not much of anything other than eat a ridiculous amount of cookies and christmas treats.

12:00 pm – Eric and i are braving the masses to do last minute Christmas shopping.

2:00 pm – back at my mom’s house doing last minute Christmas wrapping.

4:00 pm – we start the 45 minute drive out to Eric’s parents house to celebrate Christmas Eve with them.

5:00 – open presents with Eric’s family and then spend some time with them munching on Christmas treats and visiting!

6:30 pm – break out the Monopoly board for a game!

8:00 pm – back to town we go!

9:00 pm – play a game of Clue with my mom and brother. Open one present each from under the tree (a Christmas Eve tradition).

11:30 pm – my mom, brother and Eric start a movie and I go to bed.

Christmas Day:

7:00 am – wake up with a start thinking I slept in too late and missed picking my grandma up. Realize the time and go back to sleep.

8:30 am – my brother goes to pick up my grandma so Eric and I roll out of bed. My mom is in the kitchen making breakfast and I put coffee on. We all sit around the table visiting.

9:30 am – my dad arrives. We eat breakfast and visit some more!

10:30 am – time to open presents! My brother divies them out and we all take turns opening them. Eric and I got spoiled by both our families this year!

11:30 am – Done opening presents. My brother got the game ‘Apples to Apples’ so me, my mom, my grandma, my brother and Eric start playing!

12:00 pm – Eric goes out to his parents for Christmas lunch and my mom, brother, grandma and I play another game of Apples to Apples.

1:30 pm – my aunt and cousin come over and we all hang out and visit some more. All the while we are munching on copious amounts of goodies!

2:30 pm – cousin, aunt, grandma and brother go to my aunt’s house and it’s just me and my mom. We clean up and read.

3:30 pm – Eric is back. Him and my mom rent a movie and I go lay down for a nap.

5:30 pm – I wake up from my nap and their movie is just ending. We start getting ready to go to my aunts for Christmas dinner.

6:00 pm – leave for my aunts at the dinner, have to go back to the house twice; once because we forgot to put the dog in the kennel and the 2nd time because I forgot my mushroom gravy.

6:30 pm – arrive at my aunts for a delicious Christmas dinner. On my plate: soy turkey, veg stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts, mushroom gravy. My second vegetarian Christmas was a huge success!

7:30 pm – everyone is so full we can barely move! We start a game of Apples to Apples and then play a round of Clue. We eat pumpkin cheesecake with real whipping cream and some sugar pie at some point in there!

9:30 pm – leave to go back to my mom’s.

9:45 pm – Eric and I are both SO full we decide to go for a walk. It’s 1 C out and I wear capri’s on our walk.

10:30 pm – back from our nice long walk. My mom, brother and cousin are watching a movie. We sit down to watch with them and I start typing up this post.

12:00 am – Christmas Day 2011 is officially over and it’s time for bed!!

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Christmas is pretty laid back and relaxing in my family. I didn’t even really change out of my PJ’s and that’s the norm for us. I like it that way

Questions of the day: How was your Christmas weekend? What would a “day in the life” look like for you on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

Chloe is at the kennel, a friend is watching Webster and our house, my suitcase is packed and I’m likely on a plane home as most of you are reading this.

Only I’m going without something I normally take everywhere with me…

My laptop!

It traveled to Ottawa, Minneapolis, Victoria and Orlando with me this year and I normally take it home every Christmas to blog, read blogs, do general online things. But not this year. I’m only going home for four days and I want to soak up the limited time I have with my family and friends.

On the agenda for the next four days is my bridal shower (this afternoon!) I have NO idea what my MOH and mother have planned for me/it other than a top secret email was sent to Eric. I can’t wait!

Then Saturday, Sunday Monday and Tuesday will be dedicated to family and friend time. It will be a quick trip and I want to soak it all in!

I’ll still have my iPhone so it’s not like I’m taking a COMPLETE technology break But I won’t be updating too much. I’ll catch up with blogs, posting my 366 photos and all that jazz when I’m back on December 28. I am taking my camera so will have lots to catch you up on I’m sure.

Until then, have a very, very happy holiday friends! XO

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Question of the day: Are you taking a social media break over Christmas? What are your holiday plans?