And, we're off!

Happy Thanksgiving! Oh right, that was yesterday. Yesterday was all about food and family, today it's all about the shopping. And I'm trying super hard not to leave the house because of it.

Last week, the boys and I settled in for a special episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, starring Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman blog. We like Throwdown anyway, my ten year old walks around singing "Knock at the door, big surprise, oh it's Bobby Flay..." much to the chagrin of his  "boys should be watching SportsCenter not cooking shows" dad. But this one was special, and since so close to Thanksgiving, and I'm always looking to do things easier and better, I decided to look up and try some of her recipes.

So, yeah, Thanksgiving rocked. I made the turkey a la Pioneer Woman, and it was seriously the best turkey I've ever made. I am totally on the brining bandwagon now, folks. I also made butternut squash with maple butter and Craisins, which is not a PW recipe but it's pretty hard to screw up, and a couple of pumpkin pies, substituting heavy whipping cream instead of evaporated milk at the last minute because I didn't have any, and no, you don't want to know how many more calories that adds. But they were damn good. We spent the day over at my parent's house with extended family, moaning over our full stomachs but picking at leftovers, and playing with cousins.

Today my husband had plans to hit the Black Friday sales early, but didn't stir until after 8am. So much for that. All the ads on TV have gone into full-on Christmas materialtastic mode, I can hardly stand to turn it on. I really just wanted a few days to ourselves to lay around the house and do nothing, but it seems nobody else wants us to do that.

In some ways, It's easier when you go out of town for holidays. There's nothing driving you to do laundry and make beds or pick up toys or clean out closets. You really can just lounge around and visit with people you don't see very often, and eat five ridiculously carb loaded meals a day, and watch football.

But I can't seem to do that at home. Not that I wish I was traveling, I don't. We specifically do not travel at holidays anymore, and I'm sure as hell not going to fly in this climate. I can get groped  right here in my own kitchen just by leaning over the dishwasher, thank you very much.

It's time to start figuring out what to get people for Christmas. It's time to start making lists and shopping and cooking and planning parties and putting up lights. I wish, I really do wish, that I could skip it all, and focus on the meaning behind the holiday. I wish I could say, No presents this year people, maybe except for the kids, like Average Jane has done with her family. But nobody else would go along. I don't even think my family would agree to such a thing, or my husband's family.

I'm not trying to be a grinch. But I've had a cold for a week now that is really kicking my ass, and my checkbook is a little bipolar, and someone only four years older than me has just been moved to hospice, and it's all making it a little hard to find my Christmas spirit.

I really just want to go to the beach.