Thanksgiving

From our house to yours

Happy Thanksgiving!

Who needs heat when...

I'm going to see Tim McGraw tonight. Although you wouldn't catch me arguing if say the gas company service planning department finally decided to call so we could get going with this project already.

This just in...

1. We are taking tomorrow off since we will be up late at the concert tonight. We plan to start our Christmas shopping.

2. We bought a pre-lit Christmas tree. Finally found one with lots of lights that didn't cost the earth. While I've been known to string the tree lights myself, both GG and I are delighted that chore is history. When you are picky about how the lights look it takes forever to get the tree lights "just right".

3. Beanie has to work on Thanksgiving at the Magic Kingdom. Major bummer. We think we will be venturing to the OC Thanksgiving morning and take him out to eat mid-day before work then we'll trek back here and go to my sisters for dessert with the rest of the family. At least that's the plan today. We've never eaten out on Thanksgiving, but I can't imagine celebrating the holiday without both of my children. It may be coming in the near future, but not yet...

4. Speaking of Beanie, he got second place in the open mic contest at his school. He was over the moon because most of the contestants were musicians. He has another "gig" on November 22. Someone asked him to perform for a group of *ahem* mature women. He was asked to include some material on Jane Austen, and Napoleon & Josephine Buonaparte. He's doing research. Just his comments on doing historical research for a comedy bit is funny. Honestly I never know what he's going to do next.

5. Proud Mama moment. GG mentioned to me yesterday how amazing it is that in this economy both of our boys have two jobs. Beanie got hired back as seasonal help at his favorite place in the world, nope it's NOT D-Land, it's Toys R Us. Maybe all those dinner conversations about there's no replacing hard work to achieve your goals really worked???

6. Just finished reading THE MARRIAGE BED by LL Guhrke and before that I read A BRIDE IN THE BARGAIN by Deeanne Gist. I'd heard pretty good things about THE MARRIAGE BED and while good, it didn't change my world. Very well done character development though. The Gist surprised me. While privately I consider myself a spiritual person and certainly one of faith I've never read a book specifically labeled inspirational romance before. This also was a pretty good book and I enjoyed the story based on the real life brides brought to Washington Territory by Asa Mercer post Civil War. Anybody else old enough to remember the 70s TV show with Bobby Sherman, HERE COME THE BRIDES?

7. Got the most recent STAR TREK movie on blu-ray for the BA-TV for the "boys".

Well I think you are all caught up. Usually when I do these lists I think of two more things as soon as I hit "publish". Ain't life grand?

Happy Thanksgiving...oh and one more thing

Everyone will be saying Happy Thanksgiving today and rhapsodizing about things they are grateful for. I too have many blessings for which I'm thankful, but one thing I'm always particularly grateful for is the crazy community of kooky readers that we are all a part of. You are treasures. So have a great day wherever you are and however you are celebrating your thanks.

Oh, and one more thing...

I hope you'll take a minute and go read what I had to say over at Access Romance's Readers Gab. Imagine that. My turn to post happens to fall on Thanksgiving and me doing such a bang up job on my own blog. You don't even want to know the angst... Then again, maybe you do. Even if it's only to point and laugh.

Just know lieblings that at some point today I will be raising my wine glass, taking a sip and thinking of all of you. Thanks for a great year.

Got List?

Do you make lists? I may have mentioned a time or two that I make lists. I make lists on my posts. I can get organized and focus when I have lots to do as long as I have my trusty list.

This time of year I have lists and lists and lists. I have a baking list. A Christmas gift list. A shopping list. A list for near home and a list for far from home places to shop. Doesn't everyone have a grocery list? I have a board in my kitchen where we can mark down stuff for Target/WalMart, Vons, or Costco. Yes, it takes three different stores to supply the GG household.

Of course I always have a running TBB list of books I'm looking for. It's separated into 'new or current releases' and UBS books.

Now with the holidays I go into full list mode. I have a form. Yes, an actual form. It's two sided and has four days on one side and four days on the other. I fold the 81/2 by 11 sheet of paper into fourths. I can list chores, shopping, etc. all by day so I can see the week. This way I can make decisions about time or rearrange stuff. It makes it so much easier for things that need to be done during the holidays. By dividing stuff up I can organize so I can do all the things that are important to me.

Recently there was an email sent out about Christmas cards requesting anyone who wanted to participate to put their mailing address in an email loop and the participants would exchange Christmas cards. I've been doing Christmas cards every year without missing for... Give me a sec, I'm calculating... 30 years. Yes, I know, that's longer than some of you have been alive. Which let me just say right now is a little freaky for me to realize. Anyway, I'm pretty sure my first year was 1978. I could get up and check my files, but then I'd be late for work. So you get my guess instead. Whew! You realize that this means I've been sending out cards for 30 years straight. Day-um!

Of course I don't stop there. I've also kept one card and the letter, if there was one, from each year. These have turned out to be valuable tools for dating stuff and events because when the kids want to know when something happened, like say a vacation, I've usually noted it in our family Christmas letter. So they've turned out to be like a mini-archive of lives.

How I got so off track from lists I'll never know. Anyway, my point is I'm in full list making mode. Thanksgiving marks the start. I'm doing some shopping, list making, celebrating my anniversary and Christmas decorating this weekend. What's on your list this weekend? What are all of you doing over the Thanksgiving holidays?

Black Friday

We had a full turkey dinner around 4 p.m. today. Yes, I know. Thanksgiving was yesterday. We had THAT full turkey dinner at my sister's house yesterday. Remember when I mentioned GG was home for the week? Remember the post saying I was cooking a turkey and then going to read? GG decided he didn't want turkey last Sunday and ordered from Roadhouse Grill. Side note: I'm shaking my head and rolling my eyes...again...into the back of my skull. End side note.

Then come Tuesday this week GG decided we needed to have left overs. I explained that you can't have left overs until you've had the meal to begin with and since he'd changed his mind about the turkey last Sunday the only way we would end up with left overs was if I cooked a turkey and if I was going to do that we might as well stay home and eat it.

Ever the problem solver, my man is, he concluded if you have turkey dinner the day after Thanksgiving it's still left overs since you didn't eat it on Thanksgiving Day. All of which translates into me preparing a turkey on Thanksgiving so we could have the smell in the house and have the full turkey dinner today and call it leftovers. It's a good thing he's such a sweetheart because sometimes he drives me nuts. A cuckoo and a nut. Now theres a couple for you.

Couldn't we just have saved the turkey and eaten it another time? Noooooo. Anyway, now we DO have leftovers and of course all the grunting, testosterone-laden types who live here are thrilled with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and stuffing being at their fingertips to microwave at a moments whim. Look away while I roll my eyes again. Hey, I like turkey as much as the next person, but I wouldn't have argued with anyone who wanted me to skip cooking one this year.

All joking aside, I'm glad I cooked the dinner for my guys. It's good to have traditions like having your own turkey dinner no matter what and it's a small price to pay for their happiness. So much joy over mashed potatoes and gravy. It's mind boggling really.

GG and I went for our swim this morning. I got stopped in the middle by my kids' pediatrician and we chatted a moment because his youngest is a senior this year and goes to school with Shmoo. Naturally GG kept swimming without me. He hit his 50 lengths today. I ended with 46. The weather this morning was just awesome, crystal clear blue skies, about 50 degrees and the water was about 80 degrees. Really it was just sublime.

Then we had a few errands to run and ended up in Target. The new Super Target. Which can I say I expected to be brimming with people. The only truly crazy place was electronics which is where we wanted to go of course.

Check this ad out. See the 19" flat screen TV with DVD player for $199?

Well we bought it. Our anniversary is next week, our birthday is in 3 weeks on the same day, and Christmas is in 4 weeks. So we gave ourselves the TV for anniversary, birthday and Christmas and put it in our bedroom. GG is setting it up as I type this. We're going to watch NORTH AND SOUTH. Again. What can I say? I have a Richard Armitage crush. Of course, I'm not in Kristie's league, but nonetheless, I've gotta crush.

The other truly awesome thing I've discovered this holiday season? These babies.

As a person who is neither a white chocolate nor candy cane fan, I'm crazy for these chocolatey minty candies. So much so that I count out 5 to eat because if I have the bag I'm gonna eat til I'm sick and since these candies are sweeter than regular Hershey kisses I think I would get sick...eventually. But what a way to go!

Instead of candy I'm going to brew myself a nice cup of tea and go watch NORTH AND SOUTH with GG. See why made the man a turkey? He's going to watch NORTH AND SOUTH with me. Beanie is working, Shmoo is out with friends, Emily is warming my feet and GG is getting the TV fired up. The only downer is no reading again tonight. But life is full of compensations...Richard Armitage will be in HD. It's hard to argue with that.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Such a long list to be thankful for. GG and my boys top the list. Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving. We are going to be spending ours with my sister and brother who live nearby. Should be lots of fun. Travel safe everybody and have a wonderful day!

BTW, I forgot to post yesterday that I have a guest blog up over at BOOK BINGE. I talk about some books I'm especially thankful for reading at significant times in my life. Check it out here.

Beanie and Girlfriend

Who Else? The Shmoo!

I'll take "Life" for $100 Alex

Beanie is working madly on a couple of papers for school. I've got a couple of extra curricular activities for work. GG is off (again!). Not that he doesn't deserve 5 weeks of vacation after 20 years, but I just started a job so...well you get my drift. Shmoo just found out he has to work on Thanksgiving. Hey I know turkey dinner isn't for everybody, but McDonald's on Thanksgiving?

The reading over the weekend was only 'meh'. Really not bad, but not great either. Of course I didn't read what I thought I would. Part of an anthology, an Erin McCarthy and an HH by Charlene Sands.

Unrelated other stuff:

I made Rice Krispie treats for the first time in probably years. Don't know why, just had a hankerin' for them. As an added bonus I melted chocolate chips with a dab of peanut butter and spread it over the top. I used to do that when I made them for my sibs once upon a forever ago. Were they ever yummy. Nice for a different treat. Beanie and Shmoo were so impressed with my improvisation.

GG's reading has been going like gang busters. He finished the Christine Feehan ghost walker book (book 1). He wanted a change of pace so I have him MATCH ME IF YOU CAN by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. He's getting a kick out of it. Go figure with him and the romance novels the past few months.

GF#1 is gone, gone, gone out of Shmoo's life. GF #2 still makes an occasional appearance, but now we have girls...probably about a half dozen...that call day and night and night and day. Did I mention they call ALL THE TIME? Oy! It's always something.

Gotta run. Big doings at work today and it takes me a few minutes to spackle and paint and make myself presentable. See you around the neighborhood. If I don't get back on the computer before Thanksgiving, everyone who is traveling, travel safe. Everyone who is cooking and having a houseful, have fun and don't get too fried or tired. And to all of you, have a wonderful, happy, and blessed Thanksgiving.

Whoa Baby...There's a Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on...

Since last we met I, like many of you, have been quite busy. I've celebrated two birthdays with nieces, shopped, cooked and prepared Thanksgiving for my family, started my annual Christmas letter, and began decorating my house for Christmas. Okay, I didn't really do all this by myself the stalwart guys I live with helped out, but we've had one busy and some what productive week.

Yes, it is an unfortunate circumstance of my birth order (I'm an oldest child), my religious upbringing (Catholic) and the personality I was born with that I'm results oriented. Which in a nutshell means I like lists and crossing stuff off of them. Inevitably I over book the days and we end up moving items to another day. Then I have to go through my ritual of reminding myself to live a life and not watch my life. All in all it made for quite a week. Never a dull moment.

I watched Charlie Rose the other night. I've blogged about him before. I love the eclectic variety of guests he has. He frequently has a guest for a whole hour which is such a better interview than the usual talk show fare. Anyway Nora Ephron who we all know and love as a witty writer, and sometimes director, of faves like SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and WHEN HARRY MET SALLY is now doing a blog on The Huffington Post. In addition to that she currently has a book out which she was vamping on the show called I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK AND OTHER THOUGHTS ON BEING A WOMAN.

In the midst of their familiar and snappy repartee, as it was obvious they are friends, they jumped on to the subject of blogging. According to Nora, and god knows she knows more about writing than I do, a blog post is an immediate thing. If you are taking more than say 45 minutes to write, edit, etc. It isn't a blog any more. Whoa Nellie! Forty-five minutes? Crikeys chickies...I frequently take longer than 45 measley minutes. There's the agony and ecstacy of doing justice to a review...there are links to find for godsakes! Forty-five minutes my sweet petunia! Maybe for you Nora, not so much for me. Speaking of which I should be wrapping this puppy up because I'm nearing...okay it's only been about 20 minutes so far, but I'm not done talking yet.

Okay did anyone catch OFF THE RECORD on HBO? It's a new series where musicians will be interviewed by Dave Stewart, music producer and performer and get the scoop on the story behind the song. Bono and Edge from U2 were the first guests. Cool show and I always love hearing the stories behind the songs. This is another band I really enjoy. The latest video with Green Day is awesome. CindyS. posted it recently.

In light of me being too busy to read, not knowing what to blog, taking too long to blog, etc. I've decided to put a video of U2 performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005 with Bruce Springsteen...seemed fitting

Happy Thanksgiving and some other stuff...

I'm exhausted! Yes, exhausted. I just spent a couple of hours catching up on all my favorite blogs. Almost everyone had posted something since I last looked on Sunday. That'll teach me to be off my blog hopping routine for three days. There are so many things I want to do and get organized online yet. For one thing I haven't tagged all my older posts before beta. *sigh* Someday soon I hope.

This is just a quickie to wish you all a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We seem to all be busy and not much (for the most part) in the blogging or reading mood. My absence now and in the coming weeks will be less about having the blahs and more about just having lots of extra things to do. Also, inconveniently, my arthritis has flared up. Maybe it's stress related because I have so many things I want to do and projects started, maybe it's just the luck of the draw. In any case, I wish it would hurry up and go away because it makes me pretty tired.

Enough with the complaining though because I have a life filled with love and blessings. I often think of my life in review since my mother's death. I do this because I am trying to live my life and make choices so I have no regrets at the end of my life. Sometimes it's scary, but it is also fulfilling.

Well I'm off as our family festivities start today with my niece's 18th birthday party this evening. Two days of family fun!

For those of you who asked, seeing Steadman in Vegas was fabulous. I just adore the minx. We are going to try and get together next month for our birthday weekend too. It's great having a friend who works for an airlines...she can travel free to come see me! Love you Steadman.

The Next 30 days...

...are going to be pretty busy. Lots going on with holidays, family birthdays, and anniversarys. I'm happy because my husband and I are both off this week. This means we have a head start on the next 30 days which will be busy, but fulfilling and fun as well.

Yeah, yeah, we will all be hearing all sorts of things about what Christmas REALLY means, and I agree, I do, but being busy and doing things for the season is also fun, it's just important to keep balance and not get so caught up in holiday preparations that you don't enjoy the holiday.

First up this week is Thanksgiving. Just my immediate family and my Dad this year. Of course, after dinner we will be going to my sister's house for a bigger family gathering and enjoy dessert together. That is if we aren't in a tryptophan induced coma from the turkey.

Gratitude and thankfulness is an important part of my life especially when I'm feeling sorry for myself or blue. It really does help me to remember my great good fortune in life starting with my fabulous husband. Anyway, I'll be thinking of all the things I'm thankful for this week. When I'm at my lowest I always remind myself that there is a mother, daughter, sister, wife somewhere in the world walking miles for water and all I have to do is turn on the tap. PERSPECTIVE...everything is perspective.

Speaking of things I'm thankful for...laughter and humor. We watched a good bit of Comic Relief 2006 last night which was for Hurricane Katrina relief. I did a post a couple of months ago around the one year anniversary of Katrina about a Spike Lee documentary about the conditions that still exist in New Orleans a year later. Last night between sketches and comedy routines Comic Relief did a great job of personalizing what individual families are still having to deal with. This is a good time and season to give...go take a look. BTW, for all you pet lovers, what happened with the animals is just awful. Monies from this event are also going to help the displaced pets.

You may have noticed my ONE banner on the side bar. I hope, if you haven't already, you'll go check it out as well. ONE is not as interested in your money donation as they are in your participation. I don't participate in everything, I get their newsletter and sometimes I just hit delete because I'm busy or can't be bothered. I'm not perfect. But I do try to stay aware of the world around me and the things they are doing are so important. Right now there is a ultra marathon across the Sahara Desert (yes THE SAHARA DESERT!) to bring attention to the need for water. Matt Damon's production company is doing the project and Mr. Damon is narrating.

My list of things I'm grateful and thankful for is a long one and that is what I wish for people, to have a long list of things to be grateful for.

"If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”
–Rabbi Harold Kushner

Thanksgiving in Sonoma

My husband and our two boys made the trek from Southern California to Northern California... 8 hours by car ... to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and his wife's family.

It was sublime.

All the grapes have been harvested. The fields and trees are all full of fall colors. Wonderfully crystal blue skies and 71 degrees. Magnificent! Truly and wonderfully beautiful.