Thanks......Giving......

Not at all a traditional Thanksgiving.

But I'm thankful all the same for so many things I can't even begin to name them.

Hope everyone's holiday was a happy one.

I plan to stay far, far away from the stores tomorrow.

It's a day for putting up the Christmas tree, watching football, and (I hope I hope I hope I hope) riding my bike.

Expressing Thanks.....

Image from slotanna.com

I'm either jumping on the bandwagon about 20 days late, thanks to all the overachievers who have been expressing their thanks on Facebook for every freakin' day of this month, or I'm early for Thursday.

I'll go with the latter.

Maybe I'll be "creative" (read: lazy) and stretch this thanking thing out for several days, hence several blog posts. Expressing my thankfulness suits my scattered state of mind tonight anyway.

• I am thankful for Roger Bailey, my high school English teacher, who refused to accept less than my best. I'm also thankful that it's almost gymnastics season, when I get to see Roger at every home meet.
• I am thankful that I got SOME of my mother's strength (but not her inflexibility - much) and SOME of my father's humor (but not his penchant for getting a laugh at the expense of others).
• I am very, very thankful for my three surviving siblings and the brother I lost when I was only 11. I wish we lived closer to one another, but perhaps not in the same neighborhood.
• I am thankful that when my ex-husband shot our house up that I resisted the temptation to set it on fire with him passed out on the couch. Not because I would have regretted it, but because Hubby and I would have had a difficult time getting married with me being in prison and all.
• I am thankful for living in the South, where we can experience many different seasons all in the same day. I'm thankful that when I put on a sweater in the morning when it's 40 degrees and it later reaches almost 70 degrees, I have a t-shirt I can change into.
• I am thankful for the Internet and every single establishment that has wifi. Particularly free wifi.
• I am thankful that Hubby and I are able to live (mostly) debt-free.
• I am thankful for Hubby, who accepts me (as my mother would say), "warts and all."
• I am eternally thankful for the daughter who made parenting so easy that even a lazy person such as myself could accomplish it. 
• I am thankful that I never stop learning.
• I am thankful that my father's vasectomy didn't work. (Sorry if that's T.M.I.)
• I am thankful that I spent enough years in a profession that I could retire at an early age, and well before the point at which I started to hate all teenagers. I only hated SOME of them.
• I am thankful for the absolutely unconditional love (and short memory) of a dog.
• I am thankful that my football team has risen to #3 in the nation with an outside shot (VERY outside, but worth mentioning) at playing for the national championship.
• I am thankful I have not suffered a stroke during a sporting event.
• I am thankful for books. Lots and lots and lots of books.
• I am thankful for the forgiving nature of sweat pants.
• I am thankful for the wonderful people I've met through this blog. If we never meet in person (but I hope we do), please know that your comments, your support, and your friendship are very special to me.

Thanksgiving Dilemma....

I didn't intend to follow up yesterday's post about Christmas with a post about Thanksgiving. At the very least, they're in the wrong order. It may also be a case of holiday overload. But it is what it is. (That's the new mantra Hubby and I have begun to cling to.)

I think I mentioned earlier that we were up in the air as to what to do about Thanksgiving. Last year I cooked a big meal (well, Sweet Girl was home, and she did the lion's share of it, bless her), and the year before that (I think?) Hubby and I went to Sweet Girl's home in Jacksonville, where she ALSO did most of the cooking. (Detect a pattern here?)

This year, with Hubby's mother being in such bad shape, I knew we wouldn't do a big (or even medium-sized) family thing. We were left with the options of going out to eat on Thanksgiving or ordering one of those already-cooked meals from one of the area grocery stores. Even those are a tad on the expensive side, though, and still result in a lot of waste. Hubby doesn't even LIKE turkey, and I don't like it that most of us use the day as an excuse to overindulge. I understand the Pilgrims were about to starve to death, but that doesn't apply to most of us.

Hubby's mother is doing better as far as eating and drinking, but she is nowhere near ready to eat many foods. Soups, eggs, ice cream, milkshakes, and mashed potatoes are about all she can handle right now.

Personally, I would just as soon ignore the day altogether and spend it taking a walk in the park and watching football. I hate to do that this year, though, since it could very well be my mother-in-law's last Thanksgiving. She MAY feel up to venturing out to a restaurant, but again, she can't eat very much, and I don't want her to think she has to force herself to eat just to "get our money's worth."

Three years ago, when Hubby and I had just bought our RV, we left on Thanksgiving for our very first trip in it. We didn't go far, about 30 miles from home, and we had ham sandwiches that night for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was perfect. The weather was very nice, and when it cooled off considerably after the sun went down, we were fine once we learned how to turn on the furnace. We don't have the option of leaving town this year, since his mother is so ill, so we are back to square one.

Decisions, decisions. Damn those Pilgrims anyway.

Thanksgiving.....

I try to be thankful every day of the year, but today I am especially thankful for:

• Sisters who love me "warts and all," as our mother would say.
• A husband with whom I laugh a lot more often than I argue.
• A daughter who loves to cook. 
• A mother who never let me get too full of myself.
• A brother who would kill do bodily harm for me, even if I didn't find that out until I was in my forties.
• A clean kitchen.
• Enough leftovers for several days of football.
• Football.
• A job that allows me to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.
• A job.
• A home where I feel safe and happy, even when I don't have enough closet space.
• Good health.
• Short winters and long summers.
• Friends, both in the virtual world and the physical world.
• A warm fire.
• The internet.
• Places all over the globe to experience.
• A home to return to when the globe-trotting is finished.
• Miracles of modern medicine, like those allowing Baby Luke to survive and thrive.
• The colors of changing leaves.
• Freedom.
• Love.

Thanksgiving Pictures.....

I am officially middle-aged -

My child now cooks Thanksgiving dinner for ME.

In all fairness, it's most likely the only way she was going to get a Thanksgiving meal. I CAN cook, I've never poisoned anyone (so far), and I have even received compliments on my cooking from time to time, but it's not something I'm known for. More like I'm known for avoiding it.

In all my (middle-aged) years, I think I have been compelled to cook Thanksgiving dinner exactly twice. We don't have any deep-rooted family traditions regarding Thanksgiving. Sometimes Nurse Jane hosts the entire family at her home (bless her), and on at least two occasions Hubby and I have gone to one of those belly-up-to-the-buffet type restaurants.

Sweet Girl loves to cook. I don't know where she got that gene; we know it wasn't from me. And as for her father's side of the family ...... uh, probably not. Perhaps it isn't genetic at all. Maybe she developed a desire to cook simply to survive.

Okay, I'm not really that bad. I generally cook at least four nights a week, although they generally aren't gourmet meals. And I don't enjoy it. Cooking is not a hobby, it does not relieve stress for me (rather it creates stress), and I would be happy never to have to cook again. On the other hand, if I won the lottery and became very wealthy overnight, I don't think I would hire a chef either. A maid is a different story.

Thanksgiving dinner at Sweet Girl's house was wonderful. I felt guilty having so much food for only three people (and two dogs). I hope Sweet Girl will eat most of the leftovers.

Hubby trying to figure out the iPad. Is it just me, or is he wearing that same t-shirt every time I post pictures of him? I know he's been wearing it on several of our RV trips. Perhaps it's because I'm usually taking pictures of him on the weekend, and we tend to wear our UGA stuff on football weekends. 

Sweet Girl trying to figure out a recipe. Check out what her t-shirt says. It's an aviation thing.

 Daisy trying to figure out how to get to the food:

 Gus trying to figure out how to keep the ball to himself:

My lone contribution to the meal was pinto beans because Hubby loves them. And they didn't come out of a can, either!

Sweet Girl timed her cooking perfectly, and everything was ready at the same time. That takes talent, especially in a small kitchen.

Sweet potato souffle with marshmallow topping:

Macaroni and cheese. And it didn't come from a box!

Sweet Girl calls it stuffing. I don't know where she got that. We've never had "stuffing" in our house. It's always been called dressing. But it was moist and delicious, so she can call it whatever she wants to.

We also had the requisite turkey, but the picture looked gross to me and reminded me of my post about raising chickens from several days ago. It tasted delicious, trust me, but the picture did not conjure up images of deliciousness.

After the heavy meal, Sweet Girl and I took the dogs for a walk. I can't say we burned off many calories, since it was mostly a stroll, but it felt good to get out in the fresh air for a little while. It was 80 degrees there yesterday. Both Daisy and Gus wished they could get off their leashes and terrorize these geese and ducks.

Gotta Love a Two-Day Week....

My favorite kind of work week: a Monday and a Friday. Well, not really, but it seemed like it. We even got to wear jeans today, since it was the last day before the long Thanksgiving weekend. We didn't actually get permission to wear jeans, but we did and we're still employed, so there.

I am definitely NOT a day-after-Thanksgiving shopper. I just saw a commercial on television that I could have saved $50 on the GPS I got for Sweet Girl's Christmas present (don't worry, even though she has the link, she wouldn't be caught dead reading her mom's blog) if only I were willing to show up at 5:00 AM Friday morning. That ain't happening. Oh I don't mind getting up that early. I frequently get up earlier than I have to on days when I don't have to go to school. Last Friday, when I played hooky? I was up at 5:45.

And Friday I will be in a state of high excitement, looking forward to the wealth of college football games from which to choose over the weekend. But I am not going to battle the traffic, the crowds, and the crazies just to save $50. Or $100. I apologize if I just called you a crazy. I'm just sayin'.

I don't have any more refills on my blood pressure medicine, so it's time for my twice-yearly visit to my friendly GP, whom I like a lot even if she DOES appear to be about 12 years old. And she keeps going on maternity leave, which means I have to see the doctor in that practice whom hubby is fond of but I CAN'T STAND. I called the office today for an appointment, expecting to make an appointment for early in December. The friendly receptionist asked if I could come in on November 28th at 11:40. Glancing at my calendar, I realized I wouldn't be in school that day, so that would be perfect.

Only after I hung up did I realize what I had done. Scheduled a doctor's appointment for the day after Thanksgiving. The day when I try very hard not to leave the house. I usually put up the Christmas tree and decorate it while I overdose on college football. Hubby either works or plays golf (or both, he's extremely talented that way), so the day is mine. I don't have to put on a bra or make-up or anything other than sweats.

Usually.

A doctor's appointment the day after Thanksgiving. What was I thinking? Hop right up here on this scale, lady.