Rumors of my abandonment of this blog are not at all exaggerated
(We're just going to ignore the fact that I haven't posted in more than a month, okay?)
I tend to freak out and get upset about the little things. No matter how many times my father's favorite refrain of "Don't sweat the small stuff" was repeated as I was growing up, my adult anxiety and obsessive/compulsive nature didn't seem to get the message. This week, though, in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I'm trying to focus more on the things for which I am thankful than frantically double- and triple-checking my math for the turkey cooking time. So far, I've come up with this: I am thankful to have a happy, healthy, thriving family that I love. I am thankful that we have all of our basic needs taken care of, and some of our wants as well. I am thankful that I get to stay home and raise my little girl and spend my days with her. I am thankful for a husband who understands me and my quirks, and loves me not in spite of them, but because of them. What are you all thankful for?
So my parents' visit last month was really enjoyable, and we had some really gorgeous weather that allowed us to go swimming, and to go to the zoo for the day without melting into puddles of sweat. We ate kind of a lot of delicious food and had good conversations, and Leo even took a few days off work. It was so nice to have my parents here for a week, but for some reason, their leaving hit me really hard this visit, and for the first time since I moved away from Charleston, I'm not going home for any of the holidays. Hopefully we can sort out a trip to Charleston for after the holidays, even if it's just me flying up for a long weekend. I miss my sisters and their husbands and kids, too!
Halloween was pretty low-key, but it was the first time Olivia had a costume, which was cute. She wanted to be Izzy from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates," so that's what she was. I wasn't sure about whether our neighborhood was a good one for trick or treating, as there aren't many kids, so we took Olivia to trick or treat at the mall. She wasn't terribly interested in going to ask for candy, but she did get a few pieces, and a balloon, which she promptly popped the next morning, but it seemed to make the whole thing worthwhile for her! I'm hoping next year we will have moved to a neighborhood with more kids, and Olivia will be more into the whole thing.
You know, I just thought about it, but can I also be thankful that the presidential election is over? I was pretty restrained this time around and kept quiet about my particular politics on social media sites, but I'm very pleased at the outcome of the election. I really feel like people had a lot of vicious shit to say, and I found myself really disappointed in a lot of people whose opinions and points of view I'd previously respected, even if we didn't agree. I'm just really glad that the election is over, and I hope that the entire American government (because the president is not the be all end all, guys!) will start working together to make things better for all of its citizens, not just the rich, old white dudes.
So Thanksgiving is in two days, and holy shit, y'all, I'm roasting my first turkey! I roast chickens all the damn time, and my mother assures me that this will not be any different. We're having dinner here at our place, and I'm doing the turkey, the stuffing, the gravy, and the dessert. My MIL is doing squash casserole, macaroni and cheese, and West Indian potato salad. YUM! I can't even wait - I love turkey, and Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday. I think the thing I'm most looking forward to is a turkey sandwich in bed while I watch the Thanksgiving "Friends" episodes! Oh, and putting up the Christmas trees on Friday!
All right - I have so many more things I could post about, but I think I will save them (and pictures!) for a post next week. To all of my American friends and family, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, and to EVERYONE, thank you for being in my life this year - you have made it better in so many ways. Even if I forget to post and comment and email and call, I love y'all!
I tend to freak out and get upset about the little things. No matter how many times my father's favorite refrain of "Don't sweat the small stuff" was repeated as I was growing up, my adult anxiety and obsessive/compulsive nature didn't seem to get the message. This week, though, in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I'm trying to focus more on the things for which I am thankful than frantically double- and triple-checking my math for the turkey cooking time. So far, I've come up with this: I am thankful to have a happy, healthy, thriving family that I love. I am thankful that we have all of our basic needs taken care of, and some of our wants as well. I am thankful that I get to stay home and raise my little girl and spend my days with her. I am thankful for a husband who understands me and my quirks, and loves me not in spite of them, but because of them. What are you all thankful for?
So my parents' visit last month was really enjoyable, and we had some really gorgeous weather that allowed us to go swimming, and to go to the zoo for the day without melting into puddles of sweat. We ate kind of a lot of delicious food and had good conversations, and Leo even took a few days off work. It was so nice to have my parents here for a week, but for some reason, their leaving hit me really hard this visit, and for the first time since I moved away from Charleston, I'm not going home for any of the holidays. Hopefully we can sort out a trip to Charleston for after the holidays, even if it's just me flying up for a long weekend. I miss my sisters and their husbands and kids, too!
Halloween was pretty low-key, but it was the first time Olivia had a costume, which was cute. She wanted to be Izzy from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates," so that's what she was. I wasn't sure about whether our neighborhood was a good one for trick or treating, as there aren't many kids, so we took Olivia to trick or treat at the mall. She wasn't terribly interested in going to ask for candy, but she did get a few pieces, and a balloon, which she promptly popped the next morning, but it seemed to make the whole thing worthwhile for her! I'm hoping next year we will have moved to a neighborhood with more kids, and Olivia will be more into the whole thing.
You know, I just thought about it, but can I also be thankful that the presidential election is over? I was pretty restrained this time around and kept quiet about my particular politics on social media sites, but I'm very pleased at the outcome of the election. I really feel like people had a lot of vicious shit to say, and I found myself really disappointed in a lot of people whose opinions and points of view I'd previously respected, even if we didn't agree. I'm just really glad that the election is over, and I hope that the entire American government (because the president is not the be all end all, guys!) will start working together to make things better for all of its citizens, not just the rich, old white dudes.
So Thanksgiving is in two days, and holy shit, y'all, I'm roasting my first turkey! I roast chickens all the damn time, and my mother assures me that this will not be any different. We're having dinner here at our place, and I'm doing the turkey, the stuffing, the gravy, and the dessert. My MIL is doing squash casserole, macaroni and cheese, and West Indian potato salad. YUM! I can't even wait - I love turkey, and Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday. I think the thing I'm most looking forward to is a turkey sandwich in bed while I watch the Thanksgiving "Friends" episodes! Oh, and putting up the Christmas trees on Friday!
All right - I have so many more things I could post about, but I think I will save them (and pictures!) for a post next week. To all of my American friends and family, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving, and to EVERYONE, thank you for being in my life this year - you have made it better in so many ways. Even if I forget to post and comment and email and call, I love y'all!