Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday of the year, in my opinion. I always joke that it is because all you have to do to celebrate it is EAT. But actually, to set aside one day a year when you are truly thankful for what you have and who you have has to be an incredible gift!

For me, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been the benchmark that ushered in the holiday season for me. My mom wouldn't let us sing Christmas songs until Santa came at the end of the parade. Still today, I watch the parade every Thanksgiving morning, and then Andy Williams' Sleighride is all cued up to play at the end of the parade.

I will admit that I have tuned in to KOSI a bit prematurely over the past few years, but that is ONLY because I tend to get a little of my Christmas shopping done before the Black Friday rush. And I absolutely CAN'T wrap presents without having White Christmas (the movie) playing in the backgound. (It's my most viewed Christmas movie, with While You Were Sleeping running a close second...you didn't think that was a Christmas move????? Better watch it again...)

I'm all about holiday traditions. (And check a future blog for my feelings about the word "Holiday".) There's succotash and homemade cranberry sauce, turkey and all the fixin's, but this year I put my foot down on marshmallow yams. Please don't abuse that poor tubor any longer! He's a proud, succulent vegetable. To be covered with cinnamon, brown sugar and marshmallows is demeaning!!! Bake or roast him, add a little salt, pepper and butter, and let him stand on his own flavor!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you, and may this holiday season be among the best you ever remember!

Furlough

A Furlough - it has a number of meanings, but in this economy, it is being spoken of quite a bit as unpaid leave initiated by companies on their employees. It might be a day a week, or every other week, or in my case, Thanksgiving Week.
A furlough on Thanksgiving Week might seem to be an oxymoron. How can I be thankful that I'm losing a week's pay, especially just as the holiday season is approaching. But you know what? It is incredible that I have this whole week, with no working from home, just to enjoy my time and my family and to do what I choose. (Refer to "On Holiday" post in the archives.)
So I'm thankful I have this time, I'm thankful that in a week, I get to go back to work, and I'm very thankful that the company notified us of this several months ago, so we could prepare for the loss of pay. Things are tough all over, and we need to remain focused on what is still good in our lives, not just the bad things that happen.

Another Snowy Morning

I'm wondering if I need to buy new boots. I've managed with the same boots for probably ten years, because although the country thinks we are in a deep freeze half the year, my boots have gotten very little use in the past. With this being the third snowstorm, though, and it only mid-November, it might be time to invest in a good pair of mucklucks! Or snowshoes! Or a bigger snowblower!

Still, it is pretty. Pretty is good. It is like aromatherapy for the eyes...

End of a Week

The end of the week or the beginning? It is hard to tell! Here I am at 11:55 pm on a Sunday evening thinking back on the stressful week I just had that ended with a lovely Saturday and Sunday. But in a matter of hours, a new week will begin. I pray that all will go well and that everyone affected by what affects me will make it through with minimal collateral damage...

That said, I must say that it is SOOO cool to have two fine grown sons who come visit, play Guitar Hero with me and bring their girlfriends along to visit. What a great evening we had! Now, off to bed!

Learning New Things

I've been working on my prairie dog PowerPoint presentation for my English Comp class this morning. It wasn't being very cooperative, so I decided to change it up a little with a newer version of PowerPoint. It's looking good, but I wanted to imbed the sounds before the final submission. Linking vs imbedding - who knew that the sounds didn't automatically travel with the project...? I guess that's why I'm still in school. Always something more to know.