Another long weekend has come to a screeching end. Like a little kid I wait impatiently for long weekends, dreaming of not waking up to an alarm and staying awake till late at night, drinking a glass of wine, watching movies, cooking long elaborate meals and just doing nothing. However, the long weekend rolls around and to my dismay the part of doing nothing never seems to happen.

Instead of staying in bed on Thursday, I wake up to an alarm to go run a 10k Turkey trot with my friend. As much as I chided myself for having agreed to it, I did not want to turn down the opportunity to spend the morning with her and make this one of the last races for the year. Plus I had to make room for all the calories I would consume later in the day.

I probably have mentioned this before, but this time of the year is my least favorite part, not just because of the cold weather which I dislike, but mostly because I tend to miss my family more than I do during the rest of the year.

Thanksgiving rolls around and I feel more nostalgic being around my friends who have their families to join in the celebration. I admit while there are many who probably spend holidays on their own with no friends or family around, I am fortunate to have some absolutely wonderful friends who include me in all their celebrations and make me feel part of their family.

No matter how appreciative I am about that, I can’t help but miss my family.  As much as I plan on doing nothing on these long weekends, I find that doing nothing is my worst enemy. Sitting around reading a book or even trying to write just makes me more melancholy and instead I chose to find ways to keep myself busy.

I spent most of my Friday in the kitchen baking up a storm for the farmers market.  Having an entire day to bake makes me want to get creative in the kitchen and bake elaborate things I would typically shy away from. A Pecan Pie Bread pudding, a White Chocolate Cranberry & Pistachio Blondie and on and on it goes.

Pecan Pie Bread Pudding

White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Blondie

Immersing myself into baking somehow helps me maintain my sanity and for those few hours makes me forget anything and everything else around me. I become so occupied with sifting, stirring, whisking and baking and waiting for the outcome that everything else just takes a backseat.

Saturday morning begins with more baking and spending the morning at the farmers market with those I now consider friends.

Before I know it Sunday has rolled around, I wake up wanting to end my weekend with a long run, however, when I step outside, it is a cold gloomy day and not one for running. So instead I head out to the grocery store to walk around looking for inspiration for the farmers market and for one more evening in the kitchen making elaborate dinner for 2. I pick up some purple basil, sun-dried tomatoes, shrimp and head home to start dinner.

I turn the music on, head into the kitchen throw myself into making a pesto, cooking pasta, grilling shrimp and letting the cooking, the music and food be my coping mechanism for the next few hours.