Happy Thanksgiving!

Submitted by Laura on Sat, 11/24/2012 - 2:10am

Hi everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and fun weekend ahead.  I wanted to update you on what I did for the week.  To everybody's surprise, I hosted Thanksgiving this year...I got plenty of "are you sure?", "that's a lot of work.", "that's too many people.", etc.  I talked it over with Joe and we both agreed that it's more important to spend the time with family and not worry about how much 'work' it will be.  If we didn't get the furniture dusted, then oh well.  If I couldn't manage to make 2 pies, then oh well.  This year was a go with the flow year.  If you know me, then you know it would have been very hard for me to go with the flow...I had to have everything planned and perfect.  Being in the situation I'm in now teaches you to abide by those interesting life lessons....the life lessons that you know in your mind, but you don't always put into action (don't sweat the small stuff, go with the flow, don't stress).

We were planning to have 9 people, so I grocery shopped a week ahead of time and made a schedule/timeline in advance so I was not trying to do everything in one day.  Major kudos to Joe who did the house cleaning, a LOT of the preparation/cooking alone, and he helped me with most of what I was planning on cooking myself. (Thanks to Mom for cleaning, too!)  I made the vegetable stock over the weekend for the brine. Monday, I made the cinnamon ice cream.  On Tuesday, I took the opportunity to teach my cousin how to make real cranberry sauce (and see Breaking Dawn!).  Wednesday, I made pumpkin and apple pies and sweet potatoes, while Joe took care of the brining, washing our fine china, and helping me set the table.  Thursday, Joe got up and made the stuffing, took care of cooking the turkey, and made me breakfast.  It was a chill day - I even had time to blow dry my hair, which I NEVER do.  After I got ready, Joe made the mashed potatoes and I started the gravy making....we were basically done 30 minutes before guests came!  I couldn't believe it.  I would normally be rushing around, frazzled, stressed....this year felt like such a breeze!!!  (Maybe if you ask Joe, he would say it was a little hard!)  

I had such a wonderful time with my husband over the past few days, working together on almost everything to prepare for our party.  We didn't argue one time (and usually when we're in the kitchen, we'll argue at least once on how to do something my way ).  I really think it boiled down to my attitude (and the fact we have cooked thanksgiving before, so it wasn't a blind run) and that Joe seemed very engaged with me the entire week.  I just had such a wonderful couple days!  Big thanks to my Mom and Aunt Karen for cleaning the dishes, too!

Today, I slept 'til 3 pm!  Ahhhhhhhh...no black Friday for me!  My bestie invited us to her Thanksgiving celebration, so we had a more than stellar meal (she's as good a cook as me!) and Joe and I were the last to leave the party (that NEVER happens), so we had some nice alone time with Stephanie and Noel helping them clean-up and a healthy game of Catch Phrase.  Tomorrow, I think Joe and I will see his Grandma, maybe a movie (Skyfall?)....and Sunday, I will spend time with my cousin, Selina.

Overall, this weekend has really been a celebration for me of everything I am grateful for - truly.  Most of all my husband, Mom, family, and friends!  Who needs STUFF when you have LOVE?

Laura  xo