Full

My heart.
My belly!
My home.
My life.

Today is Thanksgiving. A day full of family, love, food made with love, lots of laughter and gentle reminders all around how very lucky we are to have things, life, but most of all people we love who love us back.

It might be the only day of the year I gladly woke up at 5:30 a.m. It is my first year being responsible for the star of the feast.... the turkey. He was placed in the refrigerator to thaw on MONDAY. This morning he was still in the frozen tundra state. A quick google later and he was immersed in cold water and warmed up to ready to bake temperature quite nicely.

There was turkey, chicken, cornbread dressing, sweet potato souffle, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, mustard greens, butter beans, dumplings, broccoli salad, cucumber/tomato salad, pear salad, rolls, yeast rolls, cornbread, pecan pie, chocolate delight, rum cake (mmmm!), strawberry cake, apple slices, strawberries and donuts. We're full... all seventeen of us... and sleepy.

Tomorrow is Black Friday and stores will open for Christmas sales at 4 a.m. Guess who WON'T be there. If I get up at 4 a.m. it will be because Hugh Jackman and Nathan Fillion are on my doorstep. Since shopping isn't in my top five list of things I enjoy doing, I have to say that the prospect of battling hordes of savings crazy maniacs in the aisles of Walmart or the mall stores is my idea of hell.

Photo Diary

Fair Week Parade

Tacky Day

Halloween Costumes

The Fair

November? Really??

Oy vey. We've been busy.

Parades, The Kiwanis Fair, Tacky Day, guitar recital, dance lessons, school, homework, family portrait session... and we're only halfway through November! 36 days until Santa!! 101 things to get done, places to be, gifts to wrap..... oh my. Taking a deep breath now.

I have photos to share of what we've been up to.... but blogger is not cooperating and won't let me load photos much less video.

But I'm still here! Still breathing (despite the strep near death experience) and thinking of fascinating blog posts to write that stay stuck in my head and get nowhere close to cyberspace.

Status Update

Did you know that having streptococcus invade your throat is a really, really painful experience? That it could take an adult female out of commission for THREE DAYS? That swallowing could threaten to bring you to your knees and dry mouth make you consume your body weight in water in 48 hours... while your mouth remained dry? Did you know that you would be in such agony that someone would have to drive you to the doctor, help you in and out of the car and that you wouldn't care that you had no makeup on and hadn't combed your hair? Did you know that you would beg your beloved to amputate your throat?

Now you know.

I had planned to blog about J.T.'s Halloween concert and Abby's newly learned skill of crying on demand. But I felt it most important to get this important health bulletin out. Wash your hands... stay far away from your germy children, disinfect everything. You do NOT want to get this.