Our Thanksgiving break was desperately needed and absolutely fabulous.

// We kicked off Thanksgiving break with a homemade pumpkin roll, because hello, holidays. My mom makes pumpkin rolls around this time of year, so I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I had quite the experience trying to get the cake out of the pan and on to a towel to roll it up. I may or may not have contemplated just giving up on the whole pumpkin roll idea right then and there and thought about turning it into some very cake-y pumpkin bars. After some cracks, tears, and pieces completely breaking off, it somehow turned into a successful pumpkin roll. Checking that off my list!

// It snowed the day before Thanksgiving and I was in holiday heaven. That is, until it turned to ice and I slipped down our back steps giving myself a gnarly looking bruise and adding some battle wounds to my boots. #thisiswhyicanthavenicethings

// Instead of heading to Denver or SLC for Thanksgiving, we stayed in St. Louis and had a Friendsgiving. Some couples from church and one of Ben's coworkers came over for a feast, and a feast we had! Turkey, steaks (my family's go-to instead of turkey), mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, rolls, and a random assortment of dishes--it was delicious and I probably gained 10 pounds. (Good thing J.crew just had a sale on stretching pants/leggings.) After eating, we busted out the new Just Dance game and spent an hour learning some new moves. ;) It was only natural to follow that with pies and ice cream.

// Because of the protesting going on in St. Louis, we weren't expecting many stores or malls to be open, but fortunately a good number of them were. My friend and I hit up Michael's and Old Navy on Thursday night and were surprised that both stores were practically empty. Friday morning, Ben and I ventured out to check a store or two and successfully finished 90% of our Christmas shopping. (Boo to protestors shutting down the mall and other stores.) Side note: IT IS SO HARD TO SHOP FOR TEENAGE BOYS, LET ALONE THREE OF THEM. That is all.

// Ben got one of his Christmas presents early and has since tried to teach me how to play Halo. I will never understand, or be good at, video games, and somehow I manage to live with myself. ;)

// Working at a hospital is bound to kill me one day. Regardless of how many times I sanitize my hands, pens, desk, phone, etc., I seem to catch a cold at least every two weeks. No joke. The amount of tissues and cough drops I've purchased in the last few months is exorbitant. I spent most of Thanksgiving break in bed watching Call the Midwife (I finished it and don't know what to do with myself. Show suggestions, please.) and working on a blanket I'm crocheting. Ben thinks I'm an 80-year old lady sometimes--can't say I blame him.

// We had the missionaries and some friends over for dinner on Sunday night, and were shown this great video that the church has produced. What a great reminder of the reason for the season!