(no subject)

Yesterday I got a lot of the baking and prep out of the way, including apple and pumpkin pies, applesauce, stuffing and sweet potatoes. Then Andy took me to school so I could scan in nearly a hundred pictures. I still have forty or so left to scan in. Once I have them in our gallery I'll post a link.

This morning as a surprise I made Cinnabon clones. Then I worked on the turkey, rolls, and mashed potatoes. I charred some of the rolls when they rose higher than expected and hit the heating element, the gravy was a bit lumpy, I melted the marshmallows clear into the sweet potatoes and the crust for the apple pie was burned (the pinched part), but otherwise dinner was fine. Thena and Gail got the traditional annual table food, though Gail just tried to bury hers and Thena ended up eating Gail's after Gail buried Thena's turkey dish.

After dinner I put up outside and window decorations and came up with such heartwarming phrases as "When we get a house we're not putting computer tables in front of the windows". Then I built the first fire of the season and we ceremonially burned all of the credit card offers and other junk mail we've received since our last fire.

So, a partial list of things I'm thankful for:

• I'm married to the most wonderful guy in the world
  
  
• I have two wonderful kitties
  
  
• I talked to Grandpa on the phone today, and he sounded cheerful, if tired
  
  
• Grandpa went to Gerry and Julie's today and Gerry, Mom, and Pamela all agree that he ate a good amount
  
  
• Christmas Eve in October
  
  
• Our family finally has the koledy again (I still need to do an entry about the hunt for the elusive album)
  
  
• I have some of the coolest people in my family, which includes Andy's folks
  
  
• I have some of the coolest people for friends
  
  
• Doctor Andy Wilson!
  
  
• Even if industry jobs fall through, Andy has the post-doc offer which will allow us to stay in NC at least until June
  
  
• Heather, Julie, Kim, and Theresa (Andy's aunt) all gave birth to healthy babies this year
  
  
• I didn't burn the apartment down while cooking Thanksgiving dinner
  
  
• Despite the best efforts of the grocery store, I found the Martinelli's
  
  
• Andy was kind enough to let me scan in pictures last night
  
  
• I didn't break any bones or fall out the window while hanging decorations
  
  
• I accidentally got one string of lights too many last year, for which I'm grateful because one of the sets developed a short sometime between last year and this one
  
  
• I'm one gift shy of finished for Christmas shopping, and the final gift can only be gotten in Rome
  
  
• I'm visiting Rome in eight days
  
  
• I accidentally told Andy to open a package which ended up having three of his Christmas presents in it, and he's very happy with them
  
  
• I was diagnosed with diabetes early, so I'd done relatively little long-term damage
  
  
• I've managed to control the diabetes, even if I'm still not losing weight
  
  
• I was diagnosed with the food allergies, so I'm no longer suffering needlessly
  
  
• I got to visit Grandpa a bunch of times in the past few months
  
  
• I've gotten myself and (more importantly) received some very pretty paperweights
  
  
• Did I mention that I have the most wonderful friends and family?
  
  
• I get to cuddle with Andy after finishing this entry.
  

And, on that note, I'm finishing this entry. The list is only partial; things which popped into mind immediately. There's other stuff too. I may whine a lot, but when all is said and done, I know that I'm pretty darned lucky right now.