Thanksgiving
Let's see here,
The family reunion was great.
The detachment Thanksgiving was good, my pie took second place for presentation. Everyone loved it and the cornbread casserole.
We managed to have the house ready for guests before they arrived.
We picked Lisa and Chris up at the Baltimore airport Wednesday evening. It was so nice to see them again. The airport is so close to home that we got back quickly and after showing them around I got back to work on my pumpkin pie and squash. Jermaine arrived shortly after and we all stayed up way too late.
I didn't sleep well that night. The next morning I woke up around 8am to get my turkey in the oven. Jermaine woke up and kept me company while I prepped the stuffing and bird. It went in on time but ended up taking longer than expected to cook. That was ok as everything ended up on the table at the same time and all good and hot.
I had a nice day cooking with Lisa keeping me company while the guys watched football and we all ate donuts for breakfast. We ate dinner around 4:30, a bit later than planned but everything turned out great. I didn't care for the squash, I must not have picked a good one. Aside from that dinner was fantastic.
We ate some pie later in the evening. My apple pie was one of the best I have ever made. It was really yummy with just the right mix of sweetness and tartness. The pumpkin turned out well too. All in all it was a great American Thanksgiving, probably my favourite one ever.
Friday we had lunch at a Tex Mex place that had queso good enough to appease Lisa. Then we popped into a few stores including Target and Best Buy. We scoped out the TV we were interested in getting but didn't pick it up then as we had a car full of people. At Target Lisa helped me pick out a new winter coat. It goes almost to my knees and has room for layering a sweater. That evening we went on our tour of Washington DC monuments and my new coat kept me toasty in the cold air. Before leaving the city we stopped at Hard Rock Cafe for a late dinner.
Saturday I made us French toast for breakfast and everyone enjoyed it. The guys headed out to Arlington cemetery shortly after. I stuck around and waited for maintenance to finish up before Lisa and I headed out to the mall. We had a yummy lunch at PF Chang's before shopping. Lisa bought me a really pretty red cable knit button-up sweater and I picked up two more sweaters. She said it is an early Christmas gift and I can't wait to wear it. It is so pretty. I do need to get a couple of long sleeved Ts for layering and maybe a couple pairs of pants and then I should be ready for winter here.
Saturday evening we met back at the house and all 5 of us headed out to 5 Guys Burgers for dinner. The fries were great but the burgers may have been a bit much for me as I ended up with a bit of a sore stomach in the evening. When we got back to the house we set up the Wii and played Mario Kart. It was so much fun but kept making me dizzy. What a fun time!
Sunday I made monkey bread for breakfast and everyone liked it too. It was my first time making it and it turned out perfect. I will add the nuts and raisins when I make it for our parents over Christmas. I kept it plain this time because I know Lisa doesn't like nuts. Jermaine left and then we spent time relaxing together. We all had leftovers for lunch and then Lisa and I went on a mission to try to find the right cheese to make queso. We couldn't find it so we ended up doctoring some velveeta and made a passable dip.
Before we knew it we had to leave for the airport. Chris and I ended up staying a couple hours there with Lisa and Chris because their flight was delayed and there was a possibility of it getting canceled. About an hour before the new departure time we said goodbye to them at security and headed out. Thankfully they made it home safely, if a bit late. We watched Desperate Housewives before turning in.
Yesterday I didn't do much around here. When Chris got home from work he broke the news that they turned down his leave request. It is absolute BS. He isn't doing any work right now and it was only 2 working days he'd miss to go to Canada with me. They denied it because he didn't apply 14 days in advance which wasn't even a possibility since they kept telling him he may be going to his orientation class this week. As soon as he found out it was postponed he put in his request but it was too late. All he does is sit around doing nothing. He can't work yet so there is no reason why he needs to be there.
After eating leftovers for dinner we popped into Starbucks and then headed to Best Buy where we picked up our new TV. We got it for a great price and it fit in my car. Two great things! Now I have to get my tree up and house decorated plus I completely forgot about Christmas cards. So much to do!