Thinking about Thanksgiving....

Contemplating this year's menu (always want to include more than we really need, but so hard to narrow it down), and being thankful for many things this year:

• My husband - who has now been with me through thick & thin for more than half of my life
• My son - amusing, annoying, intelligent, and oh so close to my heart
• My parents in town to visit - still crazy after all these years (they drove out from the West Coast!)
• Taking most of the week off - and that I have a job to take a vacation from
• My birthday during Thanksgiving week - it always seems like the holiday is for me
• The true abundance we have in our lives - sometimes, it's easy to let that fall by the wayside in all the chaos and busy-ness, and we shouldn't forget it, for we are truly blessed

I wish all the best to everyone in our families of origin, and the "family" we've chosen as well, and to anyone else who needs some best wishes. Thanksgiving is my Peace on Earth and goodwill unto men holiday.

Why I Love the Internet

Although I was deprived of the Internet in college (learned to program in BASIC on an Apple II - yes, Virginia, in the time before Mac this and iThat), I am a happy user in my middle-age.  (The other day, when I dropped J's lunch off at school, a kid in his class said "That's your mom? I thought it was your grandmother!" so I'm trying to embrace my apparent crone-ness, but that's another story.)

Anyway, without the Internet, no Facebook and no Twitter (which I prefer to FB, but that's another other story). And without Facebook, I wouldn't have followed this link that an acquaintance posted, and I wouldn't have known about
The Cher-pum-ple!

And then I had to Google the inventor, and found his fab-u-lous website of kitsch...and other people's Cherpmuples.

So now you now you know why I love the Internet. (Plus it's a great tool for a world-class procrastinator like myself.)

Not quite Tur-duc-ken

The past weekend was a bit of a haze. Worked from home Thursday, while Juj stayed home with a cold.

Took a vacation day Friday and hung out with him again, except for the thirty minutes of parent-teacher conference which was why there was no school. (He's doing great, of course.) Caught Megamind (fun, cute) and had dinner at the Studio Movie Grill. (BTW, reserved seats with a required pre-purchased food credit rock!  Totally worth it.)

Saturday was a blur of making paper airplanes, shopping and playing Wii Rock Band, mostly with Juj, because G-man had to work much of the day.

Sunday was my turn for the cold, and I spent much of the day in bed. Oh, except I played more Rock Band and blew out what was left of my voice. (I'm the vocalist in our trio, mostly because I'm too uncoordinated to play Wii guitar or drums.)

And made dinner, with the greatest of ease, thanks to Costco featuring stuffed chickens from La Boucherie (purveyors of turducken that we've had for more than one Thanksgiving, although this year the G-man is threatening to make one from scratch by his own self!)

• Chicken stuffed with Crawfish Jambalaya
• Sauteed Delicata Squash Rings with Browned Butter & Fresh Sage
• Blanched Broccoli and Peas
• Romaine & Spinach Salad with Carrots, Avocado & Sass
• Fresh Pineapple Brulee

Just don't ask about how the The Kitchen Cure is going...