Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s now that time of the year in which we in the U.S. partake of our holiday where we give thanks, as well as gorge ourselves on too much food and football.  Thanksgiving will be a bit different for me this year — I’ll be celebrating it twice.  On Thanksgiving Day, I’ll head to my mom’s and take her out to eat someplace in Jasper.  Because my sweetie, Eric, has to work all this week and isn’t off until the weekend, we’ll have our own Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday. Eric hasn’t had a Thanksgiving off in quite a long time.  Since he has the weekend after the holiday off, he wanted to create a Thanksgiving feast, turkey and all.

Now, I’ve lived 43 years and have never cooked a turkey in my life, and quite frankly, haven’t missed the experience..LOL.  Eric, however, who has also never cooked a turkey, really wanted one, so we bought "Junior", as he’s calling it, last week.  I warned him about the pitfalls of naming your food, but the Butterball turkey was christened "Junior" despite my dire warnings.  We’ll see if he has any difficulty consuming "Junior" on Sunday..;->. 

I love to make the side dishes — Green Beans Almondine, Sausage-Apple Stuffing, Sweet Potato Souffle, and Broccoli Salad — and could probably eat just those and be quite happy. However, because we’re both "turkey virgins", I’ve been avidly watching the Food Network for all the turkey cooking tips I can absorb.  I’ve chosen Sandra Lee’s Butter Herb Turkey recipe to follow, and it looks pretty easy.  Hopefully, Sandy’s not lying to us all..LOL

As I think about all that’s happened this year, I have many reasons to be thankful:
1.  For my great clients, some of whom have been with me from the beginning (in 1999)
2.  For surviving Hurricane Rita last year and not having to endure another hurricane in 2006
3  For having a safe, secure home that we were financially able to "makover" this year
3.  For my mom, who’s still gets around pretty well at age 72, despite having COPD
4.  For my siblings and nieces and extended relatives on my mom’s side of the family, who persevere despite losing Aunt LaVerne, Uncle Albert, and Uncle Robert this year
5.  For my sweetie, Eric, who brings me joy (most days <g>) and who really lights up my life
6.  And for you, my newsletter and blog readers, who continue to challenge me and inspire me and support me daily — thank you!

Have a great holiday!