Labor Day Weekend

I only made it two weeks into the school year before catching a cold... I made it half the day Friday as a walking germ, but a morning on my feet in freezing cold classroom and a rowdy fourth period did me in.  I went home and slept the rest of the afternoon, in hopes that I would wake up feeling magically better to make the most of my Labor Day weekend.  Turns out I didn't wake up feeling magically better.  But Labor Day weekend hasn't been completely shot either.

We've spent a lot of time with family.  On Friday night my parents hosted dinner for several of my aunts and uncles and cousins.  It was so good to see everyone (sitting at a distance on the couch of course) and reminded me how blessed we are to live close to family again.  I spend Saturday afternoon with my mom and grandmother, and Saturday night we celebrated my dad's birthday.

My dad loves seafood, so Brent and I decided to take my parents, Will and Abby, and my grandmother on the ferry across to Bolivar to eat at Stingaree's out on Crystal Beach.  We watched the barges pass through the channel and ate crabs and shrimp to our heart's delight.  Here's mom and dad outside the restaurant - we got there right before sunset.  I treasure memories of my family all together, happy and smiling and laughing.

I thought an evening of fresh air after being cooped up in a classroom and the house all week would help boost my health a little... but I woke up this morning feeling even more under the weather.  I managed to get up and get dressed to help set up for church (our church meets at my school now), but after that, I came home and slept all morning.  Brent went to church and when he came home, he told me the sermon was about how important it is to rest.  Ironic.  I spent the afternoon taking a hot bath, and feeling a little better, I got up and chopped vegetables and meats for a few meals for this week.

We tried this recipe last week - Slow Cooker Beef Fajitas - and really, really liked them.  I decided to see how they do as a prepare-ahead-and-freeze meal.  Tomorrow we're trying this one - Brazilian Feijoada.  Hoping it's good too, because it called for an arm and a leg's worth of meat.  Brent and I try to eat as little processed food as possible, but that can be really difficult with our busy schedules during the week.  This semester I'm on a quest to get better at preparing meals with fresh ingredients that can be frozen and cooked later.

Two meals prepared, and I'm worn out.  I think I'll drink my third cup of tea today and watch another indy film.  All The Days Before Tomorrow and Love Simple were really good.  Netflix is a lifesaver for long weekends spent sick on the couch.  Maybe next long holiday we'll escape on an adventure.