Thanksgiving 2012

It's fair to say I get a little bah humbug once Halloween has ended and it's on to the rest of the holiday season. I let all the marketing get to me: I hate that Christmas starts before October is even over. But more than that, I hate that Thanksgiving seems to have turned into the red-headed step child of the holidays.

But 2012, you just might be the year to turn things around. I have some fun Christmas-y things to look forward to and this year's Thanksgiving was the best I've had in awhile.

This is where I started my day - the Houston Holiday Parade. I'd never been to this parade, much less been IN one. But that's exactly where I ended up. (I love my job and that it gives me the chance to do things most people won't ever get to do.)

Our float was just around the corner from where the balloons were being staged. 

Getting up close to them was fun. You can't read them well in this photo (check out above), but I loved the Chronicle's headlines on their paper. As you can tell, this guy has a "ruff" job.

The view from our float.

View of downtown from our float.

Golden Dragon. This balloon was just in front of us in the parade. One day, I want to be a balloon handler.

On the parade route. Later in the day when my brother and sister-in-law came over for Thanksgiving dinner, I was informed my smiling and waving skills were not quite up to par...

My dad tagged along since I had a wristband for the fancy schmancy grand stands and he's always wanted to go to the parade. This was his and Jack's view of the parade route, right in front of Minute Maid Park.

Even though I need to work on my smile/wave, being in the parade was a really fun (and different) way to start the day - and an item to cross off the bucket list.

Sir Clayton welcomed us home after the parade with this festive message.

Then it was time for a favorite Thanksgiving tradition in our household: Bloody Mary's. I'm not a big fan of tomato so I usually opt for mimosas, but Katie's post-wedding brunch that included a Bloody Mary bar inspired me to give them a try. I like mine with a dash of garlic salt, large splash of olive juice and as many olives as I can jam into the glass. The homemade pickled okra, courtesy of Stacey's dad, was pretty delicious too. But just one - that's all the tomato my stomach can handle.

Mmm...turkey. I was very glad ours was stuffed with stuffing...not spaghetti like I dreamed earlier in the week. (Still not sure where that one came from...)

I was trying to get a shot to display my dad's expert carving skills along with my Great Hall candles (yes, still up from Halloween...) which we've decided to leave up through the rest of the holiday season. But SOMEONE was in photobombing mode. Jokes on you, little brother. Bet you didn't think I'd post this, did you? ;)

Carving shot.

While dad carves the turkey, mom makes the gravy from pan drippings. I'm not much for gravy, but this one I splash on my stuffing, potatoes and turkey.

I added the green bean casserole and sweet potatoes to the oven. When we opened the over to take everything out, this is what the garlic mashed potatoes looked like. Potato souffle!

Before & after. Yum. 

Then I took a nap.

After dinner, Justin and Stacey bailed to take naps as well and returned later for pumpkin pasties, pumpkin cheesecake and buttermilk pie. I was feeling adventurous and has a little of all three. My stomach regretted the decision shortly after.

Then everyone ditched me to go Black Friday shopping at 8 p.m. I stayed home, watched a little more football and went to bed for real. All in all, lovely Thanksgiving.

Bonus points: fridge stuffed with leftovers.

Catching up

The last time I legit blogged about something was mid-October...and pretty much everything in my life has happened since then. Okay, that may be a bit hyperbolic, but it sure feels like everything always happens in October. The whole month is always a whirl-wind of activity to say the least, and this year was no different: Green Bay Packers pep rally when my boys were in town to hand the Texans their one loss of the season; my annual Halloweenie Roast; and the lovely Katie got married at the end of the month. Add in some really great job news, and you'll understand why my first weekend in November looked like this.

So in one blog post or less, here is my October:

Packers Everywhere Pep Rally
What other NFL team hosts pep rallies for local fans at away games? Packers Everywhere is a pretty cool little side project the team's marketing department has so you can connect with fans on game day, no matter what city you're in and share your love all things Packers. Each season they select a handful of cities to host a pep rally in. This year Houston was a lucky winner, and since the bar they chose was a hop, skip and jump away from where we live in this city of millions, my mom and I donned our best green and gold gear and headed over to check it out.

Personal nerd highlight: getting to hear Vic Ketchman (center photo, guy speaking), one of the writers for packers.com, talk about the match-up against the Texans and answer fan questions about the rest of the season. He writes a weekly "Ask Vic" column that I just adore - his sarcasm and wit in his answers is perfect.


A Very Harry Halloweenie Roast
It went by in a flash for me, and I really, REALLY wish I would have discovered THIS before the party...not three weeks later (*sigh*), but the Halloweenie Roast was a success. Though not many weenies were actually roasted this year, I think everyone loved the Harry Potter theme. I was so impressed with how all my friends got into the theme, and there were some great costumes (Tonks, Lupin and yes - even little Teddy! - were perfection), foods (goblin brains = YUM) and potions (Baslisk Blood? I wanted to drink every last drop & had to ask for the recipe following the party).

I may have had a little too much fun planning and decorating for the theme too - when you're making your own Bertie Bott's and Chocolate Frog boxes (complete with chocolate frog and trading card...) and hanging candles from the ceiling to recreate the Great Hall, you may have gone a little over the top...

I'm not sure another Halloweenie Roast will ever live up to this one, but it sure was fun.


Katie's Getting Married!
The last weekend of October, I ventured up to Oklahoma for Katie and Jonathan's wedding. Though Katie and I have only known each other for five years, we share a love to music (yes, Hanson) and Gilmore Girls that cannot be denied. She's Sookie to my Lorelai - or vice versa, depending on the day.

Katie was kind enough to ask me to be a bridesmaid (dress #3, just 24 more to go!), and though for me the whole day is kind of a blur and I'm not sure if I sat down longer than the time it took for me to eat...it was fantastic to share in her wedding day from start to finish.

KUUUUULAAAAA!


Whew, I'm tired just thinking about all this again...how was your October?

The Writer Who Didn't Write.

weheartit.com

This is a story about a girl who wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Except she never did one very, very important thing: WRITE.

In case you didn't guess...that girl is me. Every week I take time to catch up on all the blogs I follow on Google Reader. And every week when I do so, I wonder..."Why don't I blog regularly? I really should..."

I follow Advice to Writers on Twitter, and I find myself saving the ones that pertain to writing habits. Like if I favorite enough of those quotes, it'll somehow motivate (read: guilt) me into writing.

But the truth of the matter is...I've let myself turn into a writer who doesn't write.

Why? Because I lack discipline. Right now, anyway. I'd like to think I don't lack it completely because I write for work constantly. That's what they keep me around for. I write articles. I write press releases. I write an entire blog (three entries a week).

But I don't write for myself.

I guess I keep thinking, maybe I'll find that magic switch that'll change everything and make me WANT to write. But you know what? It doesn't exist.

And I hate that I keep writing about this tired, boring subject over and over in a blog called "girls like words." I don't like words - I love words. I just seem to have forgotten how.

So perhaps instead of insta-sharing everything via Twitter and Facebook...it's time to revert back to blogging about it.

Novel idea, if I do say so myself.

Life lesson learned: I need someone

wehearit.com

Being the wallflower, nose-in-a-book, loner writer girl has always been my identity. I'd rather keep to myself, live a quiet life and let everyone else run around and make a mess of things. I was painfully shy when I was younger and hated having to speak to people I didn't know - fear of rejection and whatnot. Kind of a conundrum for a girl who wanted to work for a daily newspaper...

I grew up and got better about talking to people - I even started to enjoy it because I love learning about other people's lives. I still might to be a conversation initiator 100% of the time, but I don't hide in the corner either.

But the problem is, I still like that wallflower lifestyle. I like keeping to myself and living a quiet life. Staying home on a Saturday night and reading a book is just as much fun as going to dinner with my friends or going to see a band I love. That tendency to be a homebody has made me like living alone a little too much - and sometimes to my detriment.

For the past three weeks, I've been by myself while my parents are off living much more exciting lives in the world. And it's been lovely - I can eat dinner at the kitchen table with my laptop to catch up on TV shows on Hulu. I don't have to close the door when I shower. (It makes the bathroom SO stuffy sometimes...) And if I don't do all my dinner dishes right away, it's okay - I'll get to them tomorrow. (I at least rinse everything off because leaving truly dirty dishes lying around is just gross...)

But I didn't realize until last night when I had a complete and total meltdown (my second of the week, actually) with my mother about everything that has been stressing me out over the last month that being by myself also meant all the little things I'd normally vent about or talk about while having dinner went unshared. With anyone.

And they all built up. In the middle of my non-stop babble about everything I need to accomplish before the end of October, I realize having someone else to live with is a good thing...because it gives you the opportunity to vent about the little things so they don't build up and come out in one big freak-out...and come out in a way that they other person doesn't deserve.

Today, in light of said meltdown, I've been doing my best to kick ass, take names and get things knocked off my to-do list. And I generally feel better about things.

I just need to remember to not let it all build up. But I'm so Alice when I say things like that: I often give myself very, very good advice but I very, very seldom follow it...

The Casual Vacancy

I cannot believe it has been more than five years since I held a new J.K. Rowling book in my hands. I love this woman's ability to write characters so compelling you fall in love with them - even the antagonists.

More to come when I finish this. Can't decide if I want to dive in and read it straight through or take my time and enjoy every word...