Just a note to say....

    Happy Thanksgiving!!!    

Okay, so technically it's a day early, but I wanted to make sure I had a Thanksgiving post so I thought I would do it now while I'm thinking about it.  If all goes well tomorrow our relaxing Thanksgiving for two dinner menu will be:

-Grilled Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Apple Juice Glaze and Rosemary, Sage and Garlic Butter (cooked by Tracy!)

-Smashed Red Potatoes with Butter and Sour Cream

-Slightly Experimental Mostly from Scratch Stuffing

-French Bread (Store bought, I admit it) 

-Fresh Green Beans

-Homemade Pumpkin Pie (okay so Pillsbury made the crust but I still think it counts) with Real Whipped Cream 

 The nice thing about it being just the two of us, is that we're feeling more experimental.  You can make up a stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving when there are only two of you and if it fails no one is going to care.   We will miss our families, there's no doubt, but we're looking forward to our quiet Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone has an awesome day full of good food and good feelings.

Thanksgiving Prep

So my presentation turned out to be a low-key, good experience.  I received a lot of good feedback and an indication of some changes I can make when I go to rewrite the chapter.

I just got back from grocery and Thanksgiving shopping.  I was a little nervous about braving the stores the Saturday before Thanksgiving, but it was surprisingly pleasant.  I was also happy that I was able to afford a few splurges (fresh flowers, fresh herbs, pricier turkey breast, butter) and stock ups (three meals worth of pork chops, dirt cheap canned fruit and veggies) and still come in somewhat under budget.  A definite blessing to be thankful for!  I think part of the miracle comes from the fact that our produce basket this week contained not only the regular fruit I was hoping for, but three quarters of the extra stuff I knew I needed for Thanksgiving, like red potatoes and extra celery and onions.  Now if the cooking goes as well as the buying we will be in business.

Presentation

I'm giving a work-in-progress presentation about my dissertation tomorrow for the History Grad Student Association at the U.   It's really not that big of a deal, but prepping for it has totally consumed my available energy this week and I find myself nervous.

I didn't use to get nervous about these kinds of things, but I think my anxiety issues, as well as being out of practice, are conspiring to make me feel a little bit of stage fright.

However, what helps is reminding myself that nothing of eternal value is on the line.  I could have a disastrous presentation and Tracy would still hug me and take me out to dinner when it was over.  And nowhere in a temple recommend interview will the bishop ask me "And did you successfully deliver your work-in-progress talk?"

Yeah, I'm at the point where I just take deep breaths and wait to get it over with.

A Little Behind

Just watched the Country Music Awards and other than Brad Paisley's new stuff, I only knew two of the songs.  I need to listen to the radio a little more.  Or give up and just be old.

P.S. - Though I did, finally, get why people might be Taylor Swift fans so maybe that balances it out.  For once during a live performance the girl didn't seem overwhelmed by her own production value.

Trick and Treat

So last night as I opened the door for trick or treaters, I opened the door to see a cute little boy standing there, my immediate thought was "I know this little boy."  It took about a second to realize that he looked exactly like our nephew Talon.  Since he and his parents recently moved to the north end of the valley, it was possible that it could have been him, so I looked around to see if I could see his parents.  Off to one side was another group of trick or treaters, including some parents but they didn't look familiar, so baffled (and starting to think our nephew had a doppleganger) I gave the very friendly little boy his candy, and dealt with the next group.

I looked around again, didn't see anything and finally shut the door.  I turned around to Tracy and said, "You should have seen that little boy, he looked just like Talon!"  I can't remember if it was more trick or treaters but something made me open the door again.  And this time I heard familiar laughter.  To my relief, I was not in fact crazy.  The little boy was Talon, and we had a great quick visit with Chris and Stacia.   That's my kind of Halloween prank.