And we’re back to work.

It was an exciting vacation. I baked–a lot. And I branched out from cookies and made breads as well: challah, Italian bread, pumpkin bread, and cranberry walnut bread.

We had the family Christmas gathering which was insane and chaotic but also a lot of fun. (We made Lithuanian cookies again, which added to the insanity–and the mess.)

And I got some fun loot. I learned my lesson this year, and picked out my large gifts myself, so Michael gave me a wonderful new pair of boots. I had wanted a new pair of snow boots, but couldn’t find any, and found these instead.

They are incredibly comfortable. I love them!

And of course I got books. Amusingly, my brother and Michael both got me the same books (well, Brian got me more books, but every book Michael got me, Brian also got me).

We did have some excitement: Kat (who is declawed mind you) got pissy with Grandmom and swatted her with enough force to break the skin. So that eventually led to a trip to Urgent Care and antibiotics.

And Kat in the dog house (so to speak).

All in all, the holidays were enjoyable, and I am very glad I took the full two weeks off. Back to work today, but luckily it’s another week before the students come back, so I can ease into things.