This week we had our first real snowfall, something that is always fun to be on campus for because all of the Californians who have never seen snow are so excited, and also confused. My friend and I were in Philly, going Christmas shopping, so we headed over on the SEPTA with all of the Eagles fans who were going to see the Eagles/Lions game (the game was interesting; it’s hard to play football in several inches of snow). The snow in the city was fierce, and after a delicious lunch of pizza (pictured), we decided to head home.

This involved a stop at Insomnia Cookies, since we passed right by the shop and the snow was coming down pretty fast. Most people in the city weren’t super excited about the snow; we passed a man on a bike letting out a few choice words, but there were the occasional college students sliding down the sidewalks though the drifts, clearly just as excited as we were.

That night we had our cross country banquet, to which Coach brought a chocolate fondue and many running-related jokes. That night, I also got another hellee!! Or, I should say, my hellee got a hell sister! I was dragged out of my study hole to the library, where a Christmas tree was set up in Taft with gifts under it and Christmas music playing. It was very exciting and my hellees are in for a great hell week!

Then on Tuesday, when it snowed again, I took my hellee sledding for the first time (she’s from California so hasn’t had the pleasure). We showed up to our Spanish class covered in snow and rosy-cheeked, and I think my professor was pretty jealous. The snow day wrapped up when we returned to the hills of Bryn Mawr to make snow angels, sled, and have a pretty intense snowball fight.

This weekend I went home for Thanksgiving. Since my parents love to see that I actually have friends, I brought two friends home who live too far away to go to their own homes for Thanksgiving, and my sister did the same. The end result was that my poor brother was stuck with 5 girls for the weekend.

While Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday, it does mean that my favorite holidays, Christmas Eve and Day, are approaching, so I was feeling appropriately festive. Thanksgiving morning started off like any typical vacation morning: I rode on a stationary bike while watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and then did a brutal core set with my friend from the team, my sister, and her friend. My mom took a lot of pictures, and even a video of my dog freaking out at us (with my sister and me gone, he isn’t used to seeing people working out). Then I took my friends to see the beach. This isn’t as exciting as it sounds—a beach in New England in November is pretty cold and windy. But it is pretty; see below.

Finally it was time for the main event—cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone in the house had to make at least one dish, and I make the same one every year. Here is the recipe:

Marissa’s Holiday Ambrosia

Ingredients:

1 can pineapples (tidbits or rings, it doesn’t matter; tidbits are less work though)

2 cans mandarin oranges

1 jar maraschino cherries

1 bag mini marshmallows

Vanilla yogurt

Cool whip

Directions:

Cut the fruit into bite-size pieces. This usually means slice the oranges and cherries in half, and cut up the pineapple rings. Mix oranges and pineapples, but keep the cherries separate. Set aside. To make the sauce, mix equal parts vanilla yogurt and cool whip. It is important to not put too much cool whip in the sauce because the tartness of the yogurt balances out the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.

Approximately 20 minutes before serving, mix the oranges, pineapples, cherries and marshmallows together. Don’t use the whole bag of marshmallows; it should be equal parts pineapple, orange and marshmallows and slightly fewer cherries. Add sauce until the fruit and marshmallows are completely coated. Keep in the refrigerator until serving.

This dish is the only dish we serve at Thanksgiving that consistently is finished every time.  I take full credit.