Category: holidays
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How One Big Toe Nearly Overshadowed Alaska
As I sit with my feet up because of three toe “avulsion” surgeries, almost three full years after our trip to Alaska, I’m reminded of the Toe Saga of 2023 that nearly ruined our entire trip. The story begins in Texas in mid-April, two weeks before our cruise. Technically, the story begins a month before…
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Top 10 of 2025
You’ll have to forgive me for my delay. The plague has befallen the Shand household, and I write to you with a fever, intrusive coughing spells, and brain fog. I blame any incoherencies found below on my current state. This year was another year of big life changes—milestones, if you will—not just for me personally,…
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A Belated Thanksgiving
There are a two times of year that make me think about writing a blog more than any other, and that is Thanksgiving and New Year’s. I’ve had traditions over the years to write blogs on these holidays, and this year on Thanksgiving, as we were packing up the kids and the snacks and the…
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Top 10 of 2024
The Shand household is sick, so I’m writing this blog in a clouded haze of brain fog and I’m not entirely sure what I will type. I’m just happy to be writing a blog at all since I’ve been preoccupied for the past 12 months with keeping another human alive 24/7. Mom bloggers out there:…
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The First Thanksgiving
That is, for Charles. Today is Charles’ first Thanksgiving, and I have exactly ten minutes to write this blog. I don’t do well on a time crunch, so you should not expect an Abe Lincoln Gettysburg Address. To set the expectations accordingly, you can look forward to a series of photos of Charles being cute,…
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Well, Folks. Here it is: The Top 10 of 2023
Let’s pretend it’s six months ago, and that it makes sense to write a “Best of” post for 2023. To be clear: it was my intention to publish a blog on New Year’s Day, per my blogging tradition, when 2023 was fresh in everyone’s minds. But that didn’t go as planned, and from January 2nd…
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Top 10 of 2022
It might have taken me ten months to write about my honeymoon, but I am determined to keep my New Year’s tradition of blogging about the previous year’s highlights on January 1st. In other words, this will be an all nighter. But didn’t you only get four hours of sleep last night? you ask. Why…
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On a Quest for Hot Chocolate
I am a little delayed in my telling of The Honeymoon Saga: Part 3, but there’s nothing like post-Christmas week to complete a blog, especially one that involves hot chocolate! If you haven’t caught up – or are rusty since these were posted months ago – please see Part 1: How to Spend a Bonus…
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How to Spend a Bonus Day in Greece
When Rob and I were planning our honeymoon in Greece, we knew we wanted to stay on the mainland. We would be traveling in winter, and many of the islands shut down in the off season. But in terms of specifics, Rob gave me free rein to plan the trip. He had only one requirement:…
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The Top 10 of 2021 (with bonus content)
Why yes, my astute and observant blog readers, I did blow right past my Thanksgiving Day blog this year, and waved farewell to my Christmas Day blog,* but I will not—WILL NOT, I TELL YOU—neglect my decade-long tradition of the New Year’s Day blog! *in an ironic twist, I found a Taylor Pork Roll section…
Travel & Food Writer 