2 thumbs down for end of vacation

For Christmas I asked for an immersion blender... and I got one!  I used it for the first time tonight to make broccoli soup.

I didn't have all the ingredients for a recipe I found... so I made one up.  I sauteed an onion and a couple clves garlic in olive oil, then added it to 1.5 pounds of boiled-til-soft broccoli.  I threw in some basil, oregano, a can of vegetable broth, and simmered it for 15ish minutes.  Then I plunged in the immersion blender and whirred til smooth!  The soup was great - nice and warm and had a light flavor.  I'm all about soups in this subzero weather.  I loved having the immersion blender instead of having to transfer to a blender and back again.  And it has an attachment to make it a hand mixer!

Dave and I spent the afternoon with Julie and Bruce (sibling in-laws) playing Monopoly in card form!  It made the game really fast, but was still competitive and fun, with all the money and properties stuff going on.  And we played with Lydia - her little personality is really starting to come out now and it's so awesome!

I'm back to Marion tomorrow... boooo!  I might just have my fingers crossed for a snowstorm (I don't think there is one forecasted) in hopes it might foil my drive down.  In any case it'll be my last Monday to scrape my car - next Saturday we get the remote starter installed!  Yes!  My favorite parts of vacation: not working (duh), lots of reading, time with Dave - both at home, in MI, and in OH, and just a general lack of schedule!  As much as I don't want to start back to work, it'll be nice to see friends again who are home from holiday travels and to start my Thursdays with baby Talia this week!

Off to spend some last hours with Dave and Mosers!  But first, here's a picture of my family from our Christmas in Cleveland last week.  Miss them all already.  We don't get to be all together very often.  :(

Top row: Mom (holding Clare), Jill, Kel, Keegan, Corrine, Lizzie, John

Bottom row: Dad, Aunt Jeni, Grandma, me, Dave