It’s always nice to have some time off work to relax and unwind, but even nicer when it comes in the form of almost two weeks in a row. The only downside was that we were all sick in varying degrees, but we still managed to fit some fun and relaxation.

We visited family and friends and were spoiled by their gifts. We drank eggnog and rum and filled our bellies with roasted chestnuts (done in the oven, but still delicious). I enjoyed my Christmas Fanta (the Orange flavour that you can’t usually get in Canada). We watched our pug card tree fill up with cards from around the world. We continued our tradition of the “12 days of Starbucks”.

We took Abby to see the festival of lights at the city park and sipped hot cider as we wandered among the displays. Out Boxing Week shopping, she suddenly decided she would like to walk everywhere (but hold onto our hands as she does). We took her sledding in the backyard. She also took a few spins around the house in her new box.

I had a bubble bath for the first time in probably a year. We embraced our inner couch potatos with a Twilight-a-thon and got sucked into marathon showings of American Pickers, Auction Kings, and Auction Hunters, which made me want to purge the house of unneeded items and then go to an auction to fill it all up again. In between we discovered Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, which just made me miss Buffy.

The best moment, though, was on Christmas Day, when Abby spontaneously hugged her one-week old cousin (and then thankfully did it again once I had the camera in hand).