thanksgiving recap

I know I have been absent from here for a while, hopefully you had fun visiting some old posts while I was “away”. Anyway, I’m back! And, I officially made my “holiday cook/bake list” – it had 207 recipes. Oh dear. So… I whittled it down to 65. I think it will take me clear into 2012. But, that’s okay, I remember last New Years, when I posted egg-less egg salad and other healthy foods- you guys wanted more (a-hem) “fun” stuff.

SO!!! I did Thanksgiving, I did Black Friday, I did leftovers, and…. I’m almost done.

I made a sausage and sage stuffing…. mmmmm.

the girls got pancakes for breakfast:

and, of course they watched the parade:

They also made hand-print-turkey cookies:

I totally stole the idea from Nick Jr.

Well…. no I didn’t my little one told me about it. Then I saw where she learned about it…

I made my hubby a lemon meringue pie that took all morning to make. (Should I mention that the girls started bickering around that point?) Keepin’ it real…

My stepdaughter went with her mom in the afternoon, so I made a big ol’ turkey for three people. Yes, there is a ton o turkey in my freezer. And ice cream. And ice….

Remember my plan to be done by December 19th? Oh man, I’m aiming for December 9th now. Ya-hoo. I think the reason this is working out is because I have specific lists this year and I am sticking to them. Stores “get you” with those “great gift ideas” and then you end up with twelve random gifts for your uncle Ted. This year I am totally ignoring all the “random” gift set ups. I think I’ve saved money that way…

As far as Black Friday- which I know, some people hate- I had fun.

See… I go- and I try to get something I saw advertised, but I don’t fight, I don’t push, I don’t steal from someone’s cart, and I don‘t mace people.

Anyway- my black Friday re-cap:

I left the house a little before 9, allowing my car to roll down the driveway in neutral so my kid didn’t wake up. At that point, I realized I forgot my camera. (aw, man!) Arrived at a “big box” store, snagged a cheap________ and chatted with a couple in line buying a DVD of “The Princess Bride” and some action flick. They were sweet- and they were headed to an electronics store. I prayed for them.

My next stop was a store I had visited earlier in the week- I had “hid” some items there and was curious if my items were still “there”. Sure enough, they were!!! So, I got in line and chatted with a lady that was trying to talk me into buying a storage ottoman. I just said nah.

My next stop was going to be another store I “hid” stuff in, but the line was crazy long… so I went to a less popular store and hung out in line, chatting with two sisters about their mother, who, when she went to buy a Wii asked the salesman for a W-I-I. Then we exchanged stories of black Fridays of the past. You see, most people that see black Friday on the news, they see the frantic people pushing and shoving….because that’s what makes the news. In reality,90% of the people are mellow. But, ladies chatting in line isn’t news.

Why do we glamorize bad behavior?

Anyway, after that store it was about 2:30am, and I decided to head home… I fell asleep at 3:30 and got up at 5am and headed out at six after a very large cup of coffee. This time I had my daughter with me, who wanted to run to the entrance of every store and “bust the door”. (she’s four, remember?)

We got our 97 cent poinsettias and $5 fresh wreath. Then, we got some $5 bibles and a manger scene.Next, we had to go to the craft store for some homemade gift supplies. After that is was breakfast time ( more coffee for me!) and home.Of course, at 11:30 am, I realized there was one more place to go and we headed out to bust some doors.