I got home from my Thanksgiving trip last night. I haven't logged the cost of the trip yet; I'll do that tomorrow.

It was mostly a good time, but at one point my sister really hurt my feelings with a cruel "joking" comment, and it kind of ruined the weekend for me. I think she is very angry because I have tried so hard to enlighten her on the dangers of her spendthrift ways. She comes to the point of absolute financial ruin and then gets bailed out by money from her husband's family, so she decides there is no problem and she is doing fine. I can't even describe how bad she is with money. But anyway, she really skewers me with a verbal barb now and then and sometimes it really hurts. I just have to learn how to disconnect.

Today I set up and trimmed the new Christmas tree and wrapped some presents. It was nice to have a bigger tree and be able to use all my ornaments. Then I did some laundry and unpacked. I also read a lot (The Balland of Tom Dooley) and took a nap. It's been good to have a whole day at home before going back to work.

While on vacation, I went to a thrift store that was selling clothes for $1 per item (with a few exceptions). I found a really nice classic pantsuit, for which I think they charged me $2, since it was two pieces. I also bought a sweater, a sweatshirt, a turtleneck and a sleeveless top. Then I found a necklace for $2.50; it was my high-priced item.
I also supported Small Business Saturday by having fancy coffee at a local coffeehouse. I did NOT go to any Black Friday sales.

I took a lot of snacky-type food but ended up bringing a lot of it home. There was just so much food, we didn't even get to the snacks. I asked my brother to please tell me how to help, since I never seem to bring anything that gets used. He said, "Oh, just bring yourself," or something like that, but I really hate it that he takes the whole burden of the dinner on himself. I want to help, but I don't want to bring coals to Newcastle. I think next year I'll just bring a simple side dish and add it to the groaning board and just not stress out about it.