30 days of thanks, straight up. No chaser.

What was I thankful for this month?

November 1 -  Pink starburst

November 2 - The  library website, down all week due to Sandy, is back up. And I'm thankful for my Dad. Today is his birthday.

November 3 - I can fill my car with gas when many in NY and NJ can't, and that I have heat and electric and water and a roof over my head when many do not.

November 4 - That others are taking collections for Sandy victims so I have a place to take donations.

November 5 - To have room to house out of state campaign workers in the last days leading up to the elections.

November 6 - The right to vote.

November 7 - MFD. For so many reasons, one of the tops being the laughter he brings to my life daily. Especially on the days I don't feel like laughing.

November 8 - Fresh clean sheets.

November 9 - Out of town visitors who are content to get into pajamas, eat cheesesteaks, and have drinks on the couch. Holler, Misty.

November 10 - Lunch with my knottie ladies, seeing Kim & Steve who are in town for the night from Boston, and a great night with our framily (friends who are like family = framily. I JUST COINED THAT) - Kim, Steve, Debbie, Michelle, Jamie, Jenn, Frank, Amanda, Jimmy, Jackie, Chris, Diana, Evan.

November 11 - Veterans.

November 12 - My job.

November 13 - Leftover meatloaf, eaten cold with a mountain of ketchup.

November 14 - Vicks VapoRub and garishly bright flannel pajama sets.

November 15 - My nephews, the way they make me laugh and the promises they have for bright futures.

November 16 - Email and texting that enable me to communicate with so many people daily without picking up the phone.

November 17 - The utter joy I get from my dogs.

November 18 - Lazy Sunday afternoons with a good book.

November 19 - Convenience, and working in close proximity to my bank and pharmacy.

November 20 - Nail polish.

November 21 - DVR.

November 22 - Spending Thanksgiving with my Grandmom, which I haven't done in many years.

November 23 - Iced coffee from DD and the fact that Debbie spends most holidays with us - you don't have to be blood to be family. FRAMILY, y'all.

November 24 - The season's first flurries.

November 25 - My parents. Both my mom and my dad are the fucking best, in different ways. And their spouses are wonderful for them. Their divorce wasn't easy to go through, but I truly believe everyone is where they're supposed to be now.

November 26 - Free shipping on online purchases.

November 27 - My Tuesday night zumba instructor who kicks ass, Michelle for being my gym buddy, and that girls weekend in January with Laura and the two Kims was super easy to schedule this year.

November 28 - Groupon deals.

November 29 - My younger brothers. Both of them have grown into funny, respectable, kind men.

November 30 - Fridays.

You're not welcome ever again

So last night on the train I saw TIGHT ROLLED PANTS, you guys. My brain seized. I was transported back to 1987 when I wore acid washed tight rolled jeans with big ass socks, colored Reeboks, and garish sweaters in Mrs. Victor's fifth grade class.

I am certainly not a fashionista. I have been to the grocery store in my plaid pajama pants. I have worn yoga pants to work. Nonetheless, here are other things I hope will go away and never come back:

• Trucker hats
• Fedoras

• Shoulder pads
• Fanny packs (I already know Laura will disagree with me on this)
• Uggs. I know, I know. They're comfortable and warm. Everyone keeps telling me that. I just...can't.

• Those sneakers that claim to tone your buttocks. They just look like lopsided platforms. 
• Vibram toe shoes. They freak me out.
• Celebrities that are bundled up for frigid temperatures when it hits 62. 

Now early 90s grunge...that can come back any day.

What trends are you over  for eternity?

Grinch List

Let me preface this by saying that I enjoy the Christmas season. I like to deck my halls, share good cheer with those dear to me, send and receive cards, sing Fairytale of New York at the top of my lungs, marvel over ugly Christmas sweaters, sit on the couch and admire the glow of our tree, put reindeer antlers on my dogs, donate toys for tots, bake Christmas cookies, watch Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story, see everyone's tree and Santa pics, the whole nine.

But there are things I don't like too, and I'm probably not the only one. We rarely mention the stressful dark side of the holiday season for fear of being branded a Scrooge. Even though this is a season cloaked in magic, there is a reality to it, like there is to everything. Not loving everything about the holiday season doesn't make me or you Scrooge. This year my gift to myself is acknowledging that.

So what don't I like?

Doing the Christmas tree. I like it when it's up, but putting it up? No. Thankfully I'm married to MFD W. Griswold and he does it start to finish. And he does it very well - he clips it lovingly with scissors, he places each ornament carefully. He has an eye for symmetry and our tree is always beautiful. I usually have to take it down, which I also hate, but I'll take it. And, pine needles. Insidious vacuum hose ruiners.

Christmas music 24/7. Or that Christmas Shoes song, ever.

The attempt to cram a year of cheer into one month. By 12/26, I'm tired.

Seeing Christmas decor in stores at Halloween (I'm looking at you, Kohl's), really irks me. It takes away some of the rush. I remember when nothing was up in stores until after Thanksgiving, and it seemed like magic happened overnight. Now it's the sales that happen overnight. It puts me in a bad mood. I feel like greed and consumerism take over a lot of the season.

Expecting shiny happy kumbaya love circles because it's the holidays. Not everyone gets along or likes everyone else, and that's okay. That's life. Pretending for December is awkward.

Scheduling Christmas Day. Have I timed it right? Are we spending enough time everywhere? Someone is invariably disappointed and I am always anxious about it in advance. Why is it harder to keep in mind during the holidays that if you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one?

The holiday season tests my desire to keep a good life balance. I want to do everything and be everywhere and see everyone. I have to remember that I can't do it all without getting totally run down, rendering me useless like Randy in A Christmas Story.

This concludes the airing of the grievances and holiday whining.

Next up: feats of strength and holiday posts about pooping candy cane scented sunshine.

Linking up with Helene, Emily and Kathleen for Tell Me About it Tuesday.

the long Thanksgiving weekend that was

Wednesday night I cooked a turkey with the giblet bag still in it. No harm no fowl. Get it?

After that, I went to Sandy's to see MFD and Frank play and catch up with friends. 

Then I ate a turkey sandwich at 2 a.m. to kick Thanksgiving off the right way.

The turkey sandwich is superior to the actual turkey in my mind.

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Thanksgiving dawned warm and bright. 

We took our coffee to go and headed over to the fields to let the dogs run like loons.

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We enjoyed an antipasto spread at my inlaws' along with the musical stylings of our nephews.

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Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's in Gilbertsville. 

The big bird, Carol's awesome cheese art, and Cindy's Thanksgiving cocktail:

Pre and during dinner scenes:

The set table, my beloved can cranberry sauce, and my first plate artfully arranged so the food doesn't touch.  This is extremely important.

My grammatical OCD took over, and I had to correct an error on a packaged cocktail napkin. 

No apostrophe after the you. Really cocktail people?

I also caught Grandmom mid-turkey pick. Classic.

We had a lot of fun and a lot of wine. It was a full and lovely day.

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On Friday morning on our way upstate, Debbie and I stopped at DD.

I sampled the red velvet donut. Meh.

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Friday was full of gluttony and sloth. I enjoyed every bit of it.

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Saturday flurries.

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Jingle This Sleigh Ride for Small Business Saturday.

We pile in a car and jackass around a number of towns, frolicking and full of tomfoolery. 

It's always a good time.

Scenes:

Sleigh ride sustenance: broccoli bacon bites and mint hot chocolate cut with some coffee. 

Nimble Hill Winery's cabernet franc is my new jam.

I cannot resist presidential items in antiquey stores. MFD and I love that shit.

I wanted that Buddah so badly, but couldn't part with the $150 to get it. 

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While I love the Sleigh Ride, my favorite part of Thanksgiving Saturday is this: 

drinking wine, in my pajamas, at 3:30 in the afternoon. 

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We enjoyed lots of wine, an array of dips and snacks, and Catch Phrase. 

Jack even put his name on his plate to conserve materials.

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Big breakfast a la Jack before heading home on Sunday

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When I got home, I meant to do some hausfrauing, 

but Geege snuggled into my neck and pulled me to the nap side.

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Family dinner at Mom & Rich's since we didn't see them on Thanksgiving. 

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The weekend in shoes:

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the weekend that was

I'm so happy I got to see so many of my people this weekend. Happy and grateful.

My body is not grateful for all the naughty foods I've eaten. Veggies are going to be comin' in hot this week, you guys. 

Last week of November? Let's do this. 

I'm linking up with Sami's Shenanigans, Five30three, and Join the Gossip for Weekend Update.

t h a n k s g i v i n g

I hope you spend today surrounded by loved ones, your heart full of happy, your glass full of wine, and your plate full of deliciousness.

Be grateful for the who, what, when, where, and how today.

Be grateful for who you have. Every single person in your life serves a purpose, from those who've shown you kindness big and small to the difficult people - they show you exactly how you don't want to be.

Be grateful for what you have, and not just the big things or the material things. Recognize and appreciate the simple things that make life wonderful - the way you feel when you're with your best friend, hearing laughter coming from the next room, going to bed in clean sheets, the scent of winter in the air, the unrestricted joy in a dog wagging its tail. All the little things.

Be grateful for the times when you were down and picked yourself back up, because they made you stronger; and for the times you lived to the fullest and laughed your head off, because they made you stronger too.

Be grateful for how you got to where you are, and to all the people, opportunities, good choices, mistakes and crooked paths that led you to today. We're the sum of all of our experiences, good and bad. Appreciate your journey.

And to those out there like me who don't like their food to touch: be grateful you can get up and wash your plate in the sink in between helpings if need be. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. 

Rage against the Black Thursday machine

Black Thursday? Come again?

The last time I checked the Thursday before Black Friday was called THANKSGIVING and has been for almost 400 years since those Pilgrims broke bread with the Indians in 1621. Its symbols are the turkey and the family around the table, not the shopping cart.

I'm livid that stores are open on Thanksgiving. Open at 5 a.m., 3 a.m., whatever, on Black Friday and be done with it. While I'm not a Black Friday shopper and never have been, I know that some people love it and it's part of their tradition to kick off the season. I'm not begrudging any shopper or retailer Black Friday.

Opening stores on Thanksgiving is another story entirely. I think that flat out sucks. The fact that those employees have to leave their family on a relaxing and lovely holiday of thanks to man a cash register so people can get an extra $100 off electronics is ridiculous. And you people leaving your homes to go to stores on Thanksgiving, what are you doing? Stay home! Shop online if you absolutely must shop.

I like shopping as much as the next person. And I love love love a good deal. Do I need the good deal so badly that I'd sacrifice my lazy, wine filled Thanksgiving night in my pajamas with my family? Not on your life.

What's wrong with us as a society? We need to stop being consumers first and humans second. If none of us showed up at the stores, they'd stop opening on Thanksgiving and taking people away from their families.

Don't give me the whole "they knew what they were getting into when they took a job in retail" noise either. Stores never opened on Thanksgiving. It wasn't a given. It's corporate greed and it's bullshit.

It's out of control. Vote with your wallet! Stay home on Thanksgiving and enjoy your family and some wine and some late night turkey to fortify yourself for the Black Friday shopping you may or may not do.

Linking up with Helene, Emily, Kathleen and Mariel for Tell me about it Tuesday.

Tuesday Strikes Again

Photo from rogerwilkerson.tumblr.com

If you know me, you know Tuesday is no friend of mine. It sits there after Monday, serving no purpose save to cling to the beginning of the week like a disease. We're prepared for Monday to bum rush us. Wednesday finds us hot and heavy in the thick of things. Thursday is a big slow slide into Friday. Friday starts the weekend. What does Tuesday do? Nothing. It's the lazy weekday that should be banned.

Since I have unfettered animosity towards Tuesday on a weekly basis, I think it screws with me on purpose.

Today was no different:

Last night I was up most of the night with hideous heartburn. Geege was up fretting over the wind and rain. The whipping overnight winds removed the remaining leaves on the tree that blocks the back neighbors, so they got a clear view into my bedroom as I was getting dressed. Which of course I didn't discover until late in the dressing game, causing me to immediately sink to the ground like Maya Rudolph in Bridesmaids but at least I wasn't shitting in the street in a wedding dress.

photo: quickmeme.com

Then the people walking by the front of the house got an equally inappropriate view since my pants were in a dry cleaning bag in the living room so I emerged downstairs sans pants. Traffic was bumper to bumper on the way to the station, causing me to miss my first train. If the later train wasn't late I would've been cutting that one close too. It's raining and I left my umbrella at work. By the time I made it on to the train I was soaking wet and cold.

I finally got to work with wet pant hems (hugest pet peeve!) and promptly spilled creamer all over the floor and my cardigan. Need I go on?

Tuesday, let's lay down our swords. It's not even 8 am and I'm crying uncle.

I'm linking up with  Helene, Emily, Kathleen, and co Host Rachel for Tell me about it Tuesday.