The Mas part of Thanks...

We enjoyed our yummy dinner, yes, even Scott did...


And then we got to open our presents presents presents!
The kids each got a huganug bag with junk in it...they had to open that first, lmao.
Ed got some yum yum foods from World Market from Megs!
He also thought it was WAY cool that I got a Game Cube!


The girls patiently wait to open theirs .....


When we finished, Cathy enjoyed the naughty tts.

Here she is with George Dog the Cat.




And my awesome surprise...Ellen stopping in. We've been friends for almost 25 years...so good to spend some quality girlfriend time...coffee...laughing...bitching...laughing...coffee...you know how it goes!
It's been a great Thanksmas Vacation, 5 days off. Now back to work, December 6th my school kids go caroling, and the 9th is our HUGE concert then the 23rd the concert for the school, with a couple more caroling gigs in the middle. I have 170 students. It's a big deal! lol

I'm still...so thankful for my family and friends. They truly provide the true meaning of these holidays, don't they?

Traditions for Dinner

Knowing the day ahead will be packed with cooking, Scott made sure we got started with a good breakfast!
Michelle came over for breakfast and to help with the day. She dressed just perfect for the Thanksmas dinner cooking spree!
First things first! The most important...the pistachio pudding filled jelly roll and frog eye salad. I made the jelly roll with Montana whole wheat while Michelle boiled the acini de pepe pasta for the salad.

After the SECOND attempt, the sponge cake laid on a towel with powdered sugar...

I rolled it and put it in the fridge...next up is momma's pumpkin pie desert!

Vel, bless her heart, made this for their meal too, but she cooked a raw pumpkin whereas I bought the canned, but used my own spices etc...put it in the pan and then...

sprinkle yellow cake mix on top...supposed to use 1/2 a box, but I used the whole thing.
Sprinkle with butter, and I also add cinnamon chips on top...throw it in the oven and it's so yum yum!
Here's a tradition I started for my family, wassail. It's a hot drink of apple cider, lemonade, heated with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cinnamon sticks, fresh cranberries, oranges and limes. mmmmm I love it, most of all, lol. So as that simmers...

George Dog the Cat is acting as the present GUARD DOG!
Michelle had a heck of a time peeling the eggs for deviled eggs...she was a little pre-occupied with watching the naughty tts.
After the jelly roll cooled, I spread pistachio pudding on it, rolled it up, spread whip cream on the outside and sprinkled crushed nuts on it. Purdy?

Obviously, it was time to get changed and dressed for our amazing dinner! So I did...

And Megs got there not too long after 7...
Michelle got the crescent rolls ready to bake..
The extra stuffing ready to throw in the oven...
We set the table and got ready for an awesome feast! (Notice the Christmas tablecloth I embroidered and the Thanksgiving scarf JoJo cross-stitched)
The traditional wassail, jelly roll, pumpkin pie desert, crescent rolls and stuffing were pretty dang yummy! I made mom's corn casserole, but it was too salty because I added too much cheese :o( The turkey was nice and moist but the best part was all of us filling this table...the room was filled with conversations, laughter and love. That's the tradition I'm MOST thankful for!

Where is this?

Almost ready!

Here are the poinsettas waiting to be chosen and taken home for all the kids!


And most of the presents are wrapped and awaiting the kids to get here tomorrow evening! Michelle will be here helping cook and prepare the meal during the day. Megs, Ed and Cathy will get here in the evening. First we pig out then we open our gifts! lol
Donkey got here today (from JOJO!) and wants to wish you all a great Thanksgiving. He's hoping we are going to have some parfait!
I love this Rudolph bag! (RJ, just left, you can see 2 of the huganug bags i was telling you about.)

All these gifts look great...and we all love presents...and good food...but it isn't about that. It's about loving each other and being thankful for our family and being together. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Wrapping and Buying Presents...fun? Well, it Depends...

I've been getting ready for the MAS part of Thanksmas on Thursday. Here's a video of TT who found the box for Ed's present. Ed is her boyfriend...she loves him the most, but she is MINE!

And of course, George found the box too!
So after I got cats out of the box, I wrapped Ed's present...then Megan and Michelle and I decided to go do some more shopping!

Michelle thought maybe if Scott wore this, she could find him in a pinch, next time her car breaks down!
And I thought this would solve a lot of my problems!
Michelle remembers the day I had a pair of flats including all these colors...plus fuscia, purple, white and creme! She prays I don't renew my shoe collection!
Overall, the day was pretty good for buying Thanksmas dinner and some presents...but if you ask Megs, she has only one answer...
She says, "It
.

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THANKSGIVING?

Go HERE to find out!

I didn't do so well, my score was 11.

Food for Thought....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

A little honesty goes a long way!!!

Vel's and my kids in the mid '90s...

Lists:

LIST YOUR FAVORITE SONGS FROM THE 80S!
You start...

THREADS...

There are many quizzes and threads and such on here, but I want to start one that is very simple:

In your comment, list 10 tv shows you remember watching as a kid:

The Waltons
Little House on the Prairie
Laugh-In
Lawerance Welk
Disney
HR Puffinstuff
Pink Panther
MASH
Bob Newhart
Mary Tyler Moore

Giving a little love!

Last night, I put Theo's LATE birthday present in a box, getting ready to mail. Coincidently, here's how the birthday bag showed in the handle! lol how cute is that?


This morning when I walked into the kitchen, I found this on the counter.
Scott and I determined... along time ago, that flowers and gifts mean so much more when it is a JUST BECAUSE moment, not because the holiday deems it appropriate. And on each flower, I always get a "just because" note...today he left a reason-
"...because I love you dearly..."
How sweet is that?

12 MORE DAYS UNTIL THANKSMAS..NOW 11! UPDATED!

Hard to believe isn't it? Just 12 more days and counting down. Since Ed and Cathy are headed to Bali again this year, before December 25th, we decided to celebrate Christmas on Thanksgiving. We will feast on the traditional turkey, potatoes/gravy, cranberries, yams, corn casserole, then have a little pumpkin pie desert with whip cream in addition to the traditional Christmas cheesecake with cherries or blueberry toppings.

I have almost all my Christmas shopping done! I just need to wrap presents...probably tomorrow...and then get to work on decorating the house in festive colors! We'll probably use the Christmas holly/ivy embroidered tablecloth with the Thanksgiving runner on it that my sister Jolene made for me! I have some really fun wintery plates to use to eat on...they are much more Christmas looking than Thanksgiving, tho. I really don't want to overlook the Thanksgiving holiday, even though we are celebrating Christmas.

Terry, Michelle's bf, should be here by then...hopefully. We will have a glorious dinner together. Ed and Cathy will be here in the early evening to eat the feast of the combined holidays...I'll probably put a bit more decorations on the table that have the autumn colors in it. Any more suggestions on how to combine Thanksgiving and Christmas? Oh yeah, I'll make some hot Wassail! I've got a lot to do to get ready for the Christmas holiday in only 12 days! That reminds me of a song..
On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Okay, I won't sing it to you. I have 2 favorite Thanksgiving songs...
We gather together to ask the Lord's Blessing...
and
Over the River and Through the woods to grandmother's house we go!

Here's the Christmas Bear for 2008. I've been getting one almost every year since 1989. Isn't he cute?

He says HI BOB!

So, since it is 11 days until Christgiving, I decided to get some wrapping done...and I had a helper!
George kept grabbing the ribbon off my bed and stringing it into the living room!
But in spite of it all, I got some wrapping done!

Saturday Breakfast

Scrambled eggs on the way!

This week, I've REALLY missed my mom-