Thanksgiving 2008

Now that I have a few free minutes, I can be a little more detailed about Thanksgiving this year.

Brian and I spent Thanksgiving at work. Most people would say that's crappy, but there's a little bit of benefit to it. First off, you're guaranteed at least two, if not more, Thanksgiving dinners that you don't have to make and you usually don't have to pay for. And they are all a little different. Like at my parents house, my mom makes a kick ass turkey dinner. But, each year its the same thing. Same sides, same desserts. All good, but all the same. At work, you get to experience other peoples versions. Like, a fried turkey instead of roasted. Or mac and cheese instead of rutabaga. You come to work wondering if you'll even eat that day and by 3pm you've got invitations out the behind and you're stuffed beyond belief by 530pm. I was only invited two places and we usually get some sort of dessert or side dish from a citizen of the county. Brian had four dinners I think that day. My ex used to get his catered by the Willard Hotel or some other big named DC hotel. Not shabby to get fed and paid holiday pay at the same time. And, you don't have to deal with any family bickering or anything. The firemen are happy because they are almost guaranteed a fire that day. You can easily figure out the people who cook once or twice (Christmas day is just about the same) a year because their ovens catch on fire or they try to fry a turkey in their living room. That's not suggested, by the way, unless you are in the market for a new house and a Thanksgiving dinner at McDonald's.

The downfall to Thanksgiving this year was that we were up all night. I didn't sleep at all in that 24 hours and it showed the next day. I was falling asleep driving home, so I had Brian pick me up on the way. We had to leave for my parents by 1030am, so it was a mad rush to clean up and pack everything in time to pick Taylor up. She was still hesitant about going, but once she got to PA she had a blast. Saturday we had a nice little Thanksgiving dinner with my family and just relaxed that night by watching TV and learning to crochet from my mom. Sunday, after a stop for some necklace and bracelet beading, it was time to come home. That definitely wasn't the most pleasant drive. A three hour drive turned into almost six thanks to snow, ice, freezing rain and traffic. I was like a little kid fussing in their car seat. I couldn't get out of the car soon enough.

I can't believe its December already. I used to be done shopping for the holidays by October. Christmas and Hanukkah are only days away and I haven't even started yet. Not only have I not started shopping, but I have no idea what I'll be getting!! Brian and I decided we're going out one day and do all the shopping at once. I think I'm actually okay with that. Its going to be a little bit of a game. We are going out with a few hundred dollars, I'd suppose, and see how much stuff we can get without going over our budget. We have fun doing that in the grocery store. I'm sure we can do it with a holiday list.