What I Like

What I like about this Thanksgiving is that my little fam is all together.

Sure, BD is at work right now, but he'll be home soon and, hopefully, phone calls of things going haywire will be kept to a minimum.

Last year, he was on a ship on the other side of the world while Playette and I spent the day sightseeing in San Francisco. He never even got the chance to have dinner since he was on watch and we (well, I) decided to forgo anything that resembled the traditional holiday festivities on that day (we did dine with friends the week prior) for fear of getting all sad and not focusing on what we did have. That can be tough, y'know? We're a unit over here and when that unit gets disturbed, it takes a bit of a toll.

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Hey. I don't think I ever posted any of those pics. I was a little overwhelmed last November. Wanna see some?

We stayed at the Marine Corps Memorial Hotel downtown. Great hotel, great location (the happy hour and breakfast buffet are a nice touch, too). Playette liked the mascot statue in the lobby.


We dined that night on yummy Italian fare. I think we split a plate of gnocchi.


In the morning, we went to Pier 39 where we took a boat tour around the bay.





I remember that I had to make the decision to put my camera away after the tour because crowds + squirmy, inquisitive kid + 1 adult meant something had to give. We did end up going on the carousel though. And also some movie thing. It wasn't a long deal, so maybe a 3D/4D suck-the-money-out-of-a-parent's-pocket feature? I can't recall. She did sit through the whole thing though. I was really happy about that.

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So I'm excited that today BD gets to eat and eat until his heart is content. We don't even have to cook or travel far, so that makes it even better.

My co-worker/friend has invited us to her house and she already has most of my donations. All that's left for me to bring is the carrot cake I made last night, some whipped cream for the pies, and my tupperware.

Because you know I'm bringing stuff home to nosh on, right?

The menu we planned includes things like two fried turkeys, ham, mac and cheese, dressing (I call it stuffing even though it's in a pan and not a bird, but we've agreed to disagree), greens, sweet potatoes (she swears by the kind from Honeybaked Ham so that's what I bought instead of making my own; we'll see), rolls, and...ok, I know there are sweet potato pies and my cake for dessert as well as a million other things, but I'm drawing a blank. It's too much food though, trust.

Oh! I did contribute cans of cranberry sauce, too. Because this girl here? Likes to cut the jelly along the ridge lines. I will never not like to do that. Fancy homemade stuff is fine and all, but I needs me some ridge-lined jelly.

I spent some time yesterday brainstorming on holiday card ideas. For a sorta-Scrooge, I am way into that and I can't even explain why.

We have lots going on for the next month. Good stuff to wrap up the year quite nicely. I even have a dress to go with those sparkly shoes and I can't wait to put them on together to ring in the new year while celebrating the nuptials of a good friend. Yay for parties and glitter and new beginnings!

I'm looking forward to today. And many tomorrows.

I hope that you are, too.

And please hope along with me that today is NOT the day that my cake decides to suck. Does anyone else get nervous like that when bringing food to someone else's house?