Category Archives: Thanksgiving

Idiot 101

Posted in Oddities, OMG, Thanksgiving by

I have off from work today, so trying to take advantage of the day alone to house clean and prep for Thanksgiving.

It’s also one of those comical days that could easily be made into some funny yet god-awful Will Ferrell movie.

Take, for instance, my attempt to show the classy side of Shelli… and instead of just whipping out a wrinkly tablecloth to put on the Thanksgiving table, I decided to IRON the tablecloth. AND the napkins. Oh yes people, I spare no expense on turkey day… it’s all first class around here. So as I am ironing an incredibly LONG tablecloth my cat decides that as I iron and push the fabric to the other side of the ironing board, he is busy making it into his bed. You would imagine my surprise after I declared “I’m done!” only to look on the other side and see my cat clawing into said tablecloth. Ugh. As I pull him off, his claws take fabric with him and he’s in full sprint down the stairs with a tablecloth dragging behind him.

Yes, thank goodness I have a backup tablecloth.

Next, a trip to Starbucks to buy some Christmas Blend coffee (thank you Starbucks, for using the word “Christmas” and not changing it to “Holiday”). This blend is my favorite coffee, and the only time of year I clean up the actual coffeepot (I usually use my one-cup Keurig). So, I buy a pound and decide to get a Gingerbread Latte, but the barista must have gone foam-crazy… as I exit, I squeezed the cup lightly to hold the door for someone, and SPLAT… foam shot out of the cup and onto my shirt and chin. I HATE when that happens! Not to mention I looked like a fool.

As I am driving to another errand, yet another OMG moment… our main road in town is currently getting paved, so traffic has been horrendous with lanes being blocked off. Why they insist on doing major roadwork on the DAY BEFORE the day of Thanksgiving is beyond me. So, my side of the road is reduced to one lane (normally two lanes on each side separated by a divide). Imagine my surprise when I spy an old woman DRIVING IN FRONT of a steam roller in the CLOSED lane making tire tracks on brand new asphalt. Workers were waving at her frantically to stop and get out of the lane. What did she do???

She slowed down and waved back at them.

Aaaaahhhh, the fun has just begun. Just wait until the hi-jinks as I prepare Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I still have my humor, and that even though I had some close calls today, I am still not as big as an idiot as that woman driving on freshly poured asphalt.

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Gobbledygook

Posted in Thanksgiving by

Oh, hello. It’s me.

The previously regular blogger that has become decidedly unpredictable. Can you blame me?

Oh, there’s so much to say, and so little time. Today anyway.

Should I start with the crazy lunatic lady at the C.oach store today that was mad because the zipper on her purse was “too stiff” so she rubbed half a bar of I.rish Spring on the zipper and handed her purse to the staff proclaiming… “I want my zipper replaced!”    …Ma’am, you might want to go down the street to Louis Vuitto.n for that.

Or should I tell you about the delusions that I’ve been having with S. and our semi-serious conversations regarding domestic adoption? And our completely crazy conversations regarding spending more money to go to a big clinic and do another donor cycle (with imaginary money)?

Or perhaps you’d like to hear the story of when my RE called with the reason I had such a terrible FET? let me quote for you… “We’ve never-ever experienced such a poor thaw rate with 7 good embryos EVER in our clinic!”

Oh yes, they said that.

Maybe you are wondering how our family is doing after last week’s events.  Short story to tell there. 

All that, AND MORE! coming your way after Thanksgiving.

Why? Because I have three toilets to clean, 4 side dishes to prep, tables to set up, four loads of laundry, the dusting, the toy cleaning, the shopping…

Oh, it will be a riot.

You’ll see.

Happy Thanksgiving, peeps…

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How much fun can you handle?

Posted in Christmas cheer, Diversions, Donor Egg, family, Fun, Thanksgiving by

Whew! What a holiday weekend. From Turkey Day all the way through Sunday we managed to use every last spare moment of time.

Thanksgiving Day here at home was… exhausting, but fun. This is me and S. after 24 hours of cleaning and cooking…lol


Then we woke up Friday morning and drug out every last box of Christmas decorations. Was I meaning to do that? Hell, no. I was looking to just kick back and relax, but David had other plans. He’s the worst supervisor, by the way.

Saturday we got up early and headed to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. It’s in a new venue (such a beautiful building).


It had lots of hands-on stuff for the kids, and the adults. My personal favorite was the restored Dickens Village (think Christmas Animatronics set in 1776). The last time I saw the full display was waaay back in the 70’s. It was an annual Christmas event at Lit Bros. Department Store in the city.


Oh, and the indoor fully restored carousel… just stunning…


Sunday, we woke up to rain. And fog. And sleet. And more rain. We had tickets for the North Pole Express Train Ride. We met my brother, SIL, and the kids after a 90 minute drive, but it was well worth it.

It was the worst weather day… but you know what? It made for a great day anyway. Lots of rain meant people stayed in. Which meant we had a great time in a place that is normally packed with people.


The rain actually added character to the day. Doesn’t it look Christmas-y?

David and my nephews were bowled over when Santa walked onto the train to present them with a Christmas sleigh bell… they looked terrified and elated at the same time.. lol


Afterwards we kicked back in a nearly empty brewpub, had great beer and pretty awesome burgers.

Yeah, it was a pretty cool weekend indeed.

Lastly… a fertility update: In case you all were missing my status posts on the donor egg cycle, well, get ready. Pre-work is complete, and the cash has been procured. Tomorrow is the appointment to delve into the Great Big Book of Donors. More to come…

Thankful

Posted in Thanksgiving by

I’m off work today, getting ready for tomorrow’s festivities. Yesterday, I did a lot of prep work that was easy to slide in between work commitments. Those mundane chores like general cleaning, washing all the plates and flatware. Hauling out some temporary tables, finding the tablecloths, gravy boats, and my “I could have been a professional caterer” warming trays.

Today I am tackling the kitchen and cooking.

I’ve hosted Thanksgiving here for the last 5 years or so, really only because no one else wants to do it. lol.

I’ve learned the hard way that planning a “simple” Thanksgiving is far more complicated. And time consuming.

The up-side is my Dad gets to do the serious cooking. He’s the turkey, gravy, and stuffing man. His recipes are top-secret. Hands down the BEST turkey and sausage stuffing I’ve ever had in my life. He loves to cook, and arrives at my door with perfectly cooked and arranged food ready to dig in.

I handle a majority of the sides. This year I am ripping off a few recipes from my cyber blogging buddies. My mashed potatoes and creamed spinach from Ree, and my string beans from Natalie.
It’s good to have friends that share their culinary secrets!

Dessert is often the omigawd!! moment after we are all stuffed with turkey and 6 or so sides. Everyone who attends wants to bring dessert, so we often end up with completely uneaten desserts. And then everyone leaves them with me. Such a bad idea. So this year the rule is… if you bring it, and there’s extra, YOU take it home.

I can’t eat start eating like a pig now, I’ll never make it to Christmas.

Every year, S. complains that he gets stuck with the worst jobs pre- and post-Turkey Day. Yes, my man is the anchor of the holiday. After everything is “just so” to my liking he cleans the bathrooms and floors. Then he gets the clean-up duty after we are all stuffed to the gills.

That’s why I love him so!

After the leftovers are refrigerated, we have a pretty packed weekend of fun planned. On Sunday, we are driving into Pennsylvania with my brother, SIL, and his kids to take a ride on The Polar Express! Ok, not the real one, but it looks like a lot of fun. Food, hot chocolate, Santa, and an hour or two steam train ride.

I told David that he only gets hot chocolate if he catches it in mid-air from one of the stewards (if you haven’t seen the movie, this won’t make sense). The funny thing about dealing with a five year-old… he thinks I am telling the truth. hehe.

Hopefully, I will have lots of stories to blog about.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I get to celebrate the holiday with my family. And instead of focusing on what I don’t have, I am focusing on what’s in the here and now.

Food, family, and a warm home.

Wishing you and yours equal blessings for a wonderful holiday weekend.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

~ Author Unknown ~