it's thursday already?

how did that happen? and it's the last day of november too! well our christmas tree is up -- he's so cute! we decorated with our joint collection of ornaments and it's lovely :) i need to amass wayyyy more holiday decorations than i have though, barely fills a room in the house!
tonight i'm making dinner for nately and then i don't know what we'll end up doing -- probably cleaning the house because the termite inspector is coming in the morning!
oh and i posted more pics -- TONS from our thanksgiving/christmas weekend in PA :)
i guess that's it... our weather here lately has been gorgeous -- it's even supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow! and tomorrow's an all day team building event, so should be a good day for it!

santa, the christmas tree

will be decorated tonight! nate and i got a real tree this year, which i haven't done in years :) i'm so excited! it's a little 4' baby - tonight he'll be all lit up and christmas beautiful!

take a look at the five & ten, glistening once again

with candy canes and silver lanes agloooooooooooooow! it's beginning to look a lot like christmas... :)
as always, we had a wonderful time in pennsylvania, filled with family, food and fun! i have many pics to post. we had thanksgiving on thursday (well, duh!), a little black friday shopping and put up the tree friday, and had christmas morning on saturday! it was great ;)
i have all kinds of wonderful christmas gifts to play with- and expect more pics from the new camera as i now have a bag to tote it around in!
all for now, i'm trying to blog more often -- stay tuned ;)

bri's list of exciting news

1. we're off to PA for thanksgiving (and christmas!) i can't wait!
2. i'm going on a 7-day carribbean cruise in december!
3. we're going home for 10 days to arizona in december!
4. it's the holidays :) i love the holidays!
5. the ghoons are planning a FL visit in '07!

have a wonderful turkey day, i'm thankful for so very much this year :)

Butterball Help-Line Help-Line

By Alysia Gray Painter

Q: A caller just said she forgot to baste every 10 minutes. I advised her to serve the turkey anyway. Was I correct?
A: Not at all. The turkey is merely the vehicle for the basting. In a recent poll, nine out of 10 people would rather sit down at the table and suck on the end of a baster full of buttery juices than gnaw at some dry old wing. Bad call.

Q: I just overheard my co-worker advising a home cook to truss the bird. I arrived late at the "Talk Turkey" seminar last week and missed the trussing segment. Can you advise?
A: Trussing, while not the chef's best friend, is that pleasant acquaintance you see about once a year and always have a compliment for. Trussing is legal in every state. Trussing comes from the word "truss," which means to truss, or tie string or put pins in a turkey to help it stay in a pretty poultrylike shape that is pleasing to the eye. Cooks must remove pins and string before consuming. If a caller wants to know if she should truss, you should tell her you only go around this crazy world once. Trust truss.

Q: Cinnamon or nutmeg?
A: Cinnamon is a nice spice people are comfortable consuming throughout the year, sprinkled either on toast or in a delicious coffee beverage. Nutmeg is a nasty, gritty substance that wants nothing to do with us in the spring or summer but demands our favor come November, only to disappear to the back of the shelf for another year. Why do we continue to accommodate this so-called seasoning? Nutmeg is a stupid jerk.

Q: I just hung up with a caller with the words "gobble gobble" instead of "goodbye"—was this appropriate?
A: No. Make sure you note that in your report to your supervisor on Monday.

Q: The vending machine on the second floor is broken and we're starved. Should we call maintenance?
A: Maintenance is home eating a proper dinner with family and friends. Go to the office kitchen and look in the cupboard behind the fridge. There will be a half-eaten box of Triscuits there, because every office kitchen in existence contains a half-eaten box of Triscuits in the cupboard behind the fridge. Triscuit dust is an acceptable snack when poured into a small paper cup and drunk in the manner of water. Do not use a straw.

Q: My boyfriend didn't care if I worked the holiday. Is our relationship in trouble?
A: Perhaps your boyfriend wanted to watch football unencumbered and without you fussing around with gravy boats and miniature marshmallows. If your boyfriend is a fresh-faced soap star who wants to move up to Broadway, look for him tap dancing his heart out in front of Macy's around 10:35 a.m.

Q: I've been answering calls from perplexed home cooks all day and I still don't know why we bother, really.
A: Everyone talks about the bickering relatives and the burnt yams, but few talk about taking a weekday to eat and nap and gossip with a sibling about another sibling. No one owns it. No focus group studies it. Just you and a mostly empty bowl of stuffing and no clean utensils, so use your fingers already.

pictures galore!

i posted tons of pics for you to feast your eyes upon-- enjoy :) they're in the october and november folders.
nate and i had a great weekend -- we spent saturday running errands and then at beer fest which was great fun :) then we went to see "the prestige" -- i liked it...but i don't know - it was odd.
sunday we had a tasty breakfast (thanks chef nate!) and then worked in the yard- pics of our developing herb garden, coming soon! we watched the steelers win a very exciting game (go willie parker!) and then had yummy hot sausage in spicy marinara for dinner and FINALLY got caught up on desperate housewives. all in all, an unquestionable success ;)

poem

we spent our first years
flying away so often. pulling
away from the earth together.
i want to be at home
with you. i want to soak
in the waters of our new life
together until our skin
is filled with wrinkles.

if dreams are like movies then memories are films about ghosts...

hola! como estas? i'm good -- and need a weekend from my weekend! we had a fun activity filled weekend :) friday we had some of nate's family and even extended family over for dinner... exact count? 16 people counting nate and i! satuday morning we spent with nancy and dick and granny and pappaw :) got to show them around winter garden a bit and eat at our favorite greasy spoon for breakfast.
the rest of saturday and sunday we spent with the glen sandusky family and had a great time :) water parks, epcot and animal kingdom, followed by a great seafood dinner :)
speaking of dinner, nate's home from work so time to eat!

cleo was a pumpkin this year!