Random Dozen

 Jess over at Blog Schmog suggested I do this fun little post . . . thanks, Jess!

It is Day 25 (?) of NaBloPoMo . . . and, I gotta be honest, this is getting tough to come up with stuff to talk about every day!

Click on the donut picture above to see more of these posts!

1. Are you sticking to traditional Thanksgiving foods this year, or are you being culinarily adventurous?

I am feeling culinarily lazy.

I am also feeling like I will be gaining some weight.

Allow me to explain:

I will be attending Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws at 1.  I am contributing the green bean casserole.

Then, I will be attending Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house at 5.  Again, I am contributing the green bean casserole.

I do not believe you can classify green bean casserole as "adventurous."

Two Thanksgiving dinners . . . I might be wearing sweatpants.

2. Tell me something concrete that you're thankful for. (Something you can literally touch, see, etc., not a concept like "hope.")

I am thankful for my 4 kids.  Life is getting easier as the little dudes are getting older.  I am sad (kind of) to see the baby stage go, but I love watching them grow up and seeing each of their different personalities.

I am especially thankful for Little Dude and his new kissy face:

 

He gets a kiss from me every time he walks up to me with those lips.

3. You knew the flip side was coming: Share about something intangible that you're thankful for.

I am thankful for all the friendships that I have-new and old.

These gals have been my friends since kindergarten.

Even though we don't talk daily, or even weekly, when we get together, it seems as if time hasn't even passed and we pick up right where we left off.

I love getting off the phone with an old friend after a good laugh.

And I am thankful for my friend Bimlissa:

 

 

 

Melissa gave me her perfect black sweater with ruffles . . . just because she knew I loved it so.

She is also the one responsible for me starting a blog.

I never even knew what a blog was when she walked me through setting one up.

You can go visit her blog by clicking here and register your complaints.

4. Share one vivid Thanksgiving memory. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful, just something that remains etched in your memory.

When I was probably about 12, my cousin Shane came for Thanksgiving.

Shane was and is brilliant.  He went to schools like Cambridge and Berkeley and he works as a diplomat or something like that.

Well, when he came, he was still in college and spent most of his time in his room studying.

On Thanksgiving day, my mom asked him to go to the store to get some ice for the drinks.

He came back with ice . . . but not the ice cubes like one would assume.

He brought home a block of ice.

Brilliant!

Then he spent the next 30 minutes throwing it around on our driveway trying to make it into cubes.

5. What is one thing that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt is going to happen this Thanksgiving because it always does, year after year?

The Lumberjack will fall asleep on the couch at some point.

6. Do your pets get any left-overs?

Yes.

But not because we feed them to her.

We do have four children who love to sneak her food.

 7. Does your family pray before the big meal? If so, do you join hands while seated, stand, repeat a formal prayer or offer a spontaneous prayer? Who does the praying?

At my in-laws house, everyone holds hands to pray.

At my parent's house, we just bow our heads.

My poor children are thoroughly confused now.

They try to start handholding at my parent's house, much to the confusion of my family.

At each house, the patriarchs say the prayer.

8. Will you be watching football in the afternoon? If not, what will you be doing?

I do not watch football.

I will probably be trying to keep tabs on the four children while the Lumberjack is napping.

9. There are two distinct camps of people on this issue: How do you feel about oysters in the dressing/stuffing?

I feel like all types of seafood are nasty and wrong and need to stay in the lake or ocean from whence they came.

10. Do you consider yourself informed about the first Thanksgiving?

Yes, I suppose so.

11. Which variety of pie will you be enjoying?

Well, since I am pretending to do Weight Watchers, I should not be eating any pie . . right?

12. Do you feel for the turkey?? (This is a humorous throw back question related to the 12th question in another Random Dozen!)

Let's just say I could never kill and dress (is that the term you use?) a turkey.

I am thankful that my dad carves the turkey in the kitchen and just brings the platter of nicely carved meat to the table.

I don't do "animal body shapes" when I eat.

For that is just sick and wrong.