Question of the Day

The hubby and I went to Friendly's for dinner tonight. When the waitress gave me the bill, I handed her my credit card. She runs it through and comes back with a receipt for me to sign and a pen. The problem (other than the fact that our sodas were $2.19/apiece)? The pen was one of those pharmaceutical freebies - promoting Lamiscil - complete with that grosss little foot fungus guy all over it. Suddenly, my honey mustard chicken sandwich didn't sound so appetizing - thanks a lot, Darlene.

Should I be concerned that my waitress had a foot fungus pen? Hopefully she didn't get it as a gift with purchase...

Random Turkey Day Thoughts

1. It's official - Nick and Jessica have broken up. I know that it's pathetic, but I was really rooting for them to make it. And Nick is gorgeous - what is Jessica thinking?

2. I hate hate hate that song about the child buying his mother a pair of shoes for Christmas. They played it on my 24-hour Christmas station this morning and I had to change the channel - something I never do. It really makes me want to hork.

3. Need to get some sleep tonight - I want to make it to Target for 6am to get one of their early-bird specials (I am sure they will be gone by the time I get there, but I am going to try anyway). I am meeting my mom at her house at 6:45 am for some Black Friday shopping. Again, why is it so hard for me to make it to work at 8am, but I can spend my day off heading to the mall at the crack of dawn?

4. I love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - seeing it live in person was probably the highlight of my year last year. But again, someone got hurt at the parade when a light fell down on them. Really puts a damper on it - I just pray that they don't get rid of the balloons until I can take my kids to the parade for the first time.

5. My brother and I burned off part of our Thanksgiving Day dinners dancing to Englebert Humperdinck's "Quando, Quando, Quando" this evening. When we were kids, my Nana had this giant brown Buick with an 8-track player in it, and we listened to Engelbert Humperdinck all the time. Everyone laughs that "Quando, Quando, Quando" was the only thing that ever calmed us down. So my Papa put the song on this evening (on CD - even they have moved away from 8-tracks) and Bryan and I danced - even my Nana and Papa joined in on the dancing. It was fun.

6. Oh, and the cookies that I baked and brought to Thankgiving dinner were a big hit. I know that it's not a very Thanksgiving-esque thing to say, but I think that my cookies were the best ones there.

Have a nice weekend!

Giving Thanks

Inspired by Debby's blog, I have been thinking of my life and all I have to be thankful for.

A year ago, I was working in a job I hated, at a company that I had lost a lot of respect for - but thankfully, all else was right with the world. Despite my dissatisfaction with my job, I had some coworkers that I really liked. I was in my last semester of grad school, with a near-complete thesis and a class that I loved. Things were pretty close to perfect with the hubby, I had great friends (one who was pregnant with my godson at the time!) and I was on pins and needles all Thanksgiving eve to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in person with the hubby the following day.

Fast forward to today. I am fortunate enough to have such a happy life. I am thankful for:

* my hubby, who I grow to love more and more each day. After living apart for 3+ months, I am thankful just for the chance to see him every morning.
* my friends. Even though we live far apart, our friendship is stronger than ever.
* my family. I have the best mom, dad, and brother that anyone could ask for - plus a rockin' Nana and Papa.
* the pups. Even though they can be demonic at times, they are so cuddly and I love them.
* the fact that I have a roof over my head (and a house that I always dreamed of), food on the table, and clothes to keep me warm.
* a job that makes me feel complete.
* all of the great people I have met through blogging.

So, what are you thankful for? Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Stolen from Debby...

The perfect thing to get me in the holiday spirit (as if I need any more of it!)!

1. Name 3 people you absolutely miss right this moment that you havent seen in some time: My three best friends - her, her and Huxy (it hasn't been that long since we've seen each other, but it feels like it)

2. Name 3 things you miss about home during the holidays (be it people, smells, foods, whatever): I miss my brother waking me up when we were kids to run downstairs and open the gifts under the tree. I miss my mom's creme de menthe brownies, which she doesn't make all that much anymore. And I miss the big holiday party at my grandfather's every year - now, he just invites my mom, dad, brother, Ari and I - our cousins and their kids are not there.

3. Name 1 holiday memory that you have from childhood that you will never forget: The year my brother and I snooped and checked out our Christmas presents before the big day. Imagine being 8 years old and pretending to be surprised about getting the Pound Puppy you wanted.

4. Name at least 1 favorite book or movie that always reminds you of the holidays: A Christmas Story, definitely!

5. Name your top 3 favorite holiday songs that get you in the mood to celebrate: Feed the World (Do They Know it's Christmas?), Feliz Navidad (we change the words and sing "Feliz Weiner Dog") and Linus and Lucy from the Charlie Brown Christmas special (hubby and I got married two days after Christmas and that was the song playing when we entered our reception).

6. If you could go anywhere other than home for the holidays, where would you choose to go and who would you want to bring along: I would have to agree with Debby and say Disney World - Ari and I were there in early December last year and it was awesome! Of course, it would be me, Ari, mom, dad, my brother, and my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and nephews!

7. The Grinch or Rudolph: Rudolph, of course!

8. Formal holiday dinner or casual get-together food: lasagna and chicken parm - eaten in the dining room with formal china, but very relaxed and low-key.

9. Name the best holiday gift you ever received and why: Not sure... every gift I receive is special to me.

10. Describe the funniest holiday moment you've ever had: It's a tie - when my brother and I were little, our school had a Christmas boutique where you could buy presents for your family. One year, my brother bought my grandfather this little wooden brush with soft bristles on it (I think that it was meant to be used to polish shoes). Anyway, when my grandfather opened it, he looked puzzled, so my brother screamed, "it's to polish your head!" - my grandfather is bald. That, or the year we went to midnight Mass and my brother held his candle over his head and screamed, "I'm the Statue of Liberty!" - funny how all these stories have to do with Bryan.

11. Name a holiday memory that truly warmed your heart: the year my nephews spent Christmas with us - holidays are so much more special with kids around.

12. Name your top 3 favorite TV specials that frequent the airwaves during the holiday season: It's a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Jingle All the Way

13. Sledding, snowball fight, snow angels or building a snowman: sledding

14. Eggnog, hot chocolate, or hot cider: definitely hot chocolate

15. Candy canes or fruit cake: candy canes - I have never eaten fruitcake before.

16. Favorite holiday cookie: those peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses in the middle... anyone want to send me some???

Tag - you're it!

For Sale

One ten-pound weiner dog. The perfect alarm clock for the early riser - likes to wake up at 5:30 am to start her day by barking incessently. Picky eater - prefers socks and blankets. Great diet aid - turn your back for a second and half your dinner is gone. Snores like a freight train.

On the other hand... likes to snuggle, give kisses and curls herself up on the couch like a little angel. And look at this face.

Never mind, I think we'll keep her...

Weekend update...

What a weekend - can't believe that it is Sunday already! This weekend flew by, but we did get a lot accomplished. Since Friday, we:

* bought canned goods for the annual Boy Scouts food drive, and actually remembered to put everything out on our front porch prior to 9 am Saturday
* bought batteries for our elliptical machine (the display) and the digital camera (even though only the camera is functional right now)
* unpacked about 50 percent of our remaining boxes and organized the basement
* got some more Christmas shopping done
* went grocery shopping
* put our ceiling fan up in the bedroom
* spent time together... which is always the best part of the weekend.

Looking forward to the week ahead - actually, looking forward to Wednesday, as I have to get a full week's worth of work done in three days, and tomorrow will be spent in an all-day meeting (yawn) in the coldest conference room in our building (brrr). But the Thanksgiving "vacation" will be fun - dinner at my Nana's on Thursday, Christmas shopping on Friday, spending time with hubby's mom and sister - who are coming to visit - on Saturday (very fun! :-)) and recovering from the weekend on Sunday.

It's weird... although Ari and I have been together for 6 years now, this is only the third Thanksgiving we have spent together, and the first one that he is spending away from his family. Our first year of dating, I had to work the day after Thanksgiving, so it wasn't worth driving 6 hours round-trip just to spend a few hours with my family. And last year, we spent the day at Ari's sister's house, after spending the morning in the city watching the Thanksgiving Day parade (something I definitely want to do again!). I feel like we should establish some of our own Thanksgiving traditions, but I am not sure what. I have a feeling that we will be spending Thanksgiving night cleaning the house in preparation for our weekend guests.

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

'Tis the season...

This weekend, I participated in my favorite sport - holiday shopping!

I was out of the house by 7:00 on Saturday morning to swing by Starbucks for gingerbread lattes before meeting my mom at her house at 7:30 (I can't even drag my a** out of bed that early most days!). We were at the mall by 8:00, where a few of the stores were having special sales. I got sooo much shopping done - picked up gifts for a whole bunch of family members (and hubby too - they were having a good sale on coal for his stocking!). By the time we got home around 1:30, I was absolutely exhausted.

Next big day - Black Friday. That is my favorite shopping day of the year - the people, the decorations, the overall holiday spirit.

In other holiday-related news - is it me, or are people decorating for the holidays earlier and earlier? On my way home from picking up a pizza tonight, I counted three homes that already had decorations out. And I am not talking icicle lights - there were Santas, reindeer, light-up candy canes... the whole nine yards. I usually like to wait until the first week in December to start decorating, but that's just me.

Finally, I have a great idea for our Christmas cards this year - now all I have to do is convince the weiner dog to wear antlers...

A belated Election Day note....

The scene: Monday night, 7 pm, our house.

The phone rings. I answer it. Hubby hears the following:

Hello?
[Pause]
Hello John.
[Pause]
Yes, I understand what you're saying, but quite honestly, I don't care.
[Pause]
Didn't you understand what I just said? I DON'T CARE. Even worse, I don't believe you. And tell Hillary to stop calling here!
[Click]

I hang up the phone. Hubby looks at me, horrified, and says, "What was that all about?"

I replied, "Oh, John Corzine called... he wants us to vote for him. And don't worry, I don't think that we will be getting any more calls from Hillary Clinton."

Blast from the past...

Wow - a whole week without blogging! After feeling like garbage for over a week, I finally went to the doctor. Yup, bronchitis. Of course, I didn't even take a day off of work - left yesterday at around 12:30 to get some well-needed rest, but that's it.

Anyway... I don't know whether it's moving back to my old hometown, my upcoming 10-year high school reunion, or her post - but I have been thinking a lot about my high school years lately. So many people I know have fond memories of their high school years, maintain their friendships for years to come. Not me. Now, don't get me wrong - there are a couple of people that I still keep in touch with who are extremely nice people, someone from my high school years even did a reading at my wedding, but I don't have any of those close friendships or fond memories that people speak about.

I graduated with a class of almost 600 students and I never even had the chance to develop close relationships with even a small segment of my class. And I think that I graduated with a disproportionate number of b**chy girls - you know, the cliques where people would decide one day that they didn't like you and that was it - nobody liked you. Ugh - girls are the worst.

All of my closest relationships developed as a result of people I met in college or shortly thereafter. But I think that I am in the minority - hubby still stays in touch with many of his HS friends (including this one), two of my best friends married their high school boyfriends (or at least guys they went to high school with)...

So, am I the only one out there without a high school history?

Do you fondue?

Over the weekend, hubby and I did a lot of work on the house - most importantly, our kitchen is fully functional... dishes and glasses put away, utensils organized, coffee pot and toaster oven cleaned and plugged in. Having an orderly kitchen gives me such a sense of peace.

Anyway, as I was putting away some of the items that we don't use that often, I came across our fondue pot - a gift so generously given to me by Brandao one Christmas.

Now, I love the whole concept of fondue, but actually putting it into practice is an entirely different matter altogether. When I went to visit Brandao in Virginia last year, we decided to visit The Melting Pot for dinner. The Melting Pot is a restaurant that specializes in fondue - you cook all of your courses right at the table. How cool, right?

Anyway, by the time we finally dragged ourselves off the couch and away from our Lifetime movie marathon, it was late, she was pregnant (well, she was pregnant before we sat on the couch) and we were hungry. So, we make it to The Melting Pot and were drooling over the menu. It started with a cheese course, where you dunked bread and veggies into warm, melted cheese. Then you had the main course, where you were given a variety of meats and veggies and a pot to cook them in. Finally, the dessert course - chocolate with pound cake, brownies and fruit. Yum!

Well, we polished off the first course in record time. However, it had been hours since we had eaten (and Brandao was pregnant after all!), so we were looking forward to the main course. When they finally brought it out, it was shocking to realize that all of the meat was raw, that we had to cook it ourselves. No big deal, right? Do you know how long it takes to cook one of those little chunks of meat? By the time we were finished with the course, it felt like hours had passed and we were tired of eating, tired of sitting there (and kinda jonesing for our Lifetime televison). Now, don't get me wrong - the dessert course was as perfect as we expected. But to have to cook your own meal - after paying as much as we did for dinner? Blasphemy!

If I were ever to open a fondue restaurant, it would specialize in pre-cooked fondue...