Let's just say I'm less than thrilled that the holiday weekend is over & that it's back to the regular routine. That's the thing about holiday weekends: afterwards, the transition back to one's regular schedule is un-fun and grouchy.

Some good things:

1) I realized today (while re-doing the Key Office's whiteboard calendar) that there are only two weeks of classes left (three of the semester). Hot damn! Salvation will be here before I know it.

2) Saturday, my mom, sis & I spent the day in Shelburne Falls, quite possibly the cutest place in MA. It reminded me a lot of Osceola, WI: both towns are on the scenic riverfront, both are rife with mom & pop cafes/gift shops/trees, both are nice weekend diversions. I hadn't thought about Osceola in who knows how long; when I was in high school/college, I used to drive there from CR to get my hair cut. (A good family friend has her own salon there.) Getting a haircut was a daylong event: the drive to Osceola took an hour; the cut itself, an hour. Afterward, I'd get lunch at Dagwood's, a place on Main St. specializing in subs and tacos. Then, I'd spend an hour or so browsing the antique store, looking for Lucite earrings and chunky plastic bracelets. Ah, Osceola. Dagwood's is closed, I'm fairly certain. In fact, it may have closed while I was still in college, the market for tacos and cold cuts not being as strong as it once was. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to venture (mid)westward before the winter's up.

Happy post-Thanksgiving! And pre-winter! Let's all not be too long faced at work and school today. The end.

Thanksgiving was pretty great. I have to admit, I was worried that we wouldn't pull everything off - we had an extensive-ass menu - but we did. We did. Here is what the four of us cooked:

*Turkey (11.1 lbs.: the smallest bird we could find) & gravy
*Mashed potatoes (garlic, and also mashed potato casserole, which is regular mashed potatoes + sour cream + grated cheese, baked with cheese on top: one of Ali's concoctions)
*Old skool stuffing (so much butter)
*Corn bake
*Raspberry salad
*Cranberry, apple, and orange relish
*Steamed broccoli, steamed carrots
*Snowflake rolls (these, admittedly, were store bought)
*Chocolate cupcakes
*Pumpkin pie

and...

*Nachos, with Ali's specialty dip.

The nachos don't really fit into most people's Thanksgiving schemata, but they were a delicious accompaniment to football. My all-time favorite, of course, is my mom's stuffing: there's no written recipe, but the constant is BUTTER. I know she seasons it with thyme, sage, poultry seasoning, s&p, but the exact proportions are a mystery. Srsly, though: I look forward all year to this stuffing, and I did not leave the table disappointed.

Later, after we'd slept off our food hangovers and cleaned up, we saw Four Christmases. I wasn't too eager to see it, not being much of a Vince Vaughn fan (I guess I don't mind Reese Witherspoon?), but it wasn't too bad. I think this assessment was strongly influenced by my initial low expectations, though. Bottom line: Vince Vaughn does and always will play VV, and if you're not in the mood for his schtick, then this is not the holiday movie for you.

Happy post-Thanksgiving kickin' around to all, and to all a good morning! I'm not sure what's on the schedule for today, but I hope it doesn't involve shopping or simple carbohydrates...

Halp.

A minor freakout. The plan was this: the plan was that Ali would work the morning shift today and I would work the morning shift today, and in the afternoon we would tidy the house/purchase last minute groceries/get our holiday wine situation in order/BAKE. As it turns out, Ali's [admittedly-fickle] boss called her in for a double shift today, and A. will be working until at least 10pm. = UGH.

I know I'll be able to get all this stuff done by myself, but I am filled with loathing at the thought of grocery shopping on the day before Thanksgiving. How was I to know that I'd use most of the milk I'd intended for stuffing? Or that my mom no longer likes salad mix and wants bunches of red leaf lettuce and romaine? = UGH. On top of all this, I was hoping to get at least 1/3 of my student papers graded; looks like that won't be happening.

Ah, well. Things could be worse: the house could still be in the state it was Sunday morning. We could have forgotten the turkey, or the pie crusts. I could be one of those people who feels guilty about taking a long time to grade (hah). But, none of these things are true. So, I'll forge through the next three.five hours of work, and then it's prep time.

Back to reality.

Yesterday I was a total slob: slovenly in the way I haven't been in at least a year. Saturday night, we (Ali, Eric, and I) threw a surprise birthday party for Sara, which was pretty badass. We had decorations (balloons, streamers, birthday banner), a full nacho/taco bar, a cake shaped like North Dakota, and plenty of boozes. The revelry lasted well into the night, then the later night, then the morning, and before we all knew it, it was five. Hence the subsequent slobbery.

Mostly I like to be awake and alert early: I'll wake up at 5:30 or 6, check email, eat breakfast, putter around, go to the gym, and so on. But yesterday, sleeping until 2, driving to BK still in my fleece pants, eating on the couch while staring at the blank TV, and not showering until 5:30 were the only acceptable choices. To be fair, I wasn't wholly unproductive: Ali and I cleaned up all the party-related mess (A. even got a Swiffer mop for the job: the mop is awesome), watched "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (I would have resisted if I weren't such a zombie), baked for the grad conference bake sale (today!), and I did some homework for practicum. We also finished our Thanksgiving shopping, which took an hour or two longer than it should have, due to our hazy fascination with the just shelved Xmas merch. And our haziness in general.

If there's one thing I learned, it's that fleece pants are the greatest invention ever. I've never owned a pair before, but I'm starting to think I should pick up a few more in different colors. Has slovenliness invaded my life? Only time will tell...

RAAAAH!

Again: RAAAAAH! Damn, it is Friday, and I'm more excited than I normally am on Friday mornings because this week was a minor shitstorm. So, hallelujah to doneness: doneness of the week. I'm freaking out a little because I didn't sleep well last night, I think I might be getting sick again (despite my efforts to chug as much Emergen-C as humanly possible), and there's revelry planned for the days to come. Not to mention all the stuff that needs to be done for Thanksgiving: a thorough cleaning of the house (so that my mom does not think that A. and I live in total squalor, which we sometimes do & which I HATE), purchasing of all the T-day foodstuffs, decorating of our mini-tree. The mini-tree (3' tall) is mostly decorated, being that there are so few branches. But, finishing touches.

Ali and I might get our turkey today, before all the turkeys are sold out. I wanted to pre-order a fresh, local bird, but my mom was like, "meh," and Ali doesn't eat meat, so frozen it is. Our fridge is pretty full, so Eric has graciously volunteered the bottom shelf of his fridge for the defrosting process.
ALSO: Has anyone ever cooked a turkey in a crock pot? My mom wanted us to do this (we were initially planning to get a turkey breast, rather than a whole bird), but I don't think it will work. Guess it's time to buy a roasting pan...

Monday will bring haircut joy! Or, trim joy, since Project Long Shiny Ponytail is still underway. My hair is longer than ever, but the last time I got it trimmed was late September & the ends are starting to look a little frazzled. Going to The Lift in Easthampton, based on LDS' recommendation. Excitement!

Um, yeah: I just slammed my fingertips in a key drawer, and my hand FUCKING HURTS.
Monday, everyone. Everyone, Monday.

I'm getting pretty excited for Thanksgiving, though up to this point I was feeling fairly nonchalant about the whole affair. That's the nice part about holidays: the excitement doesn't set in until a week or so before (1.5 wks, in my case) but when it does, it does for real. This is going to be the first T-day I've had away from my childhood home; my feelings about this are mixed. I realize that it's more economically sound for my mom to come visit me and my sis, rather than flying the two of us home. I'm a little sad that I won't be celebrating Midwest style, but I'm also a wee bit gleeful about having T-day dinner in my own apartment. Ali and I have already started planning the menu, and shopped around for turkeys this weekend. BOOYAH!

I'm considering taking a step that I've never taken before (in terms of my personal appearance, that is). Folks, I'm going to buy bronzer. It is true that most of my life, summers excluded, I've been pale as hell, prompting some of my friends to consider me "white as the driven snow." It's time, I think, to abandon my corpseness and enliven my complexion. I'm anti-tanning, but bronzer I think I can deal with. I'll keep you posted on the progress of this journey.