the one with Thanksgiving Highlights

1. Seastar!  My sister surprised my family by flying in three days early!  The look on my mom's face when she walked into the restaurant was priceless.  Meredith had to leave on Thanksgiving Day to be a bridesmaid at a wedding in Arizona and I was sad not to have her there at our family dinner.  Especially when my mom's oven stopped working and I had to single-handedly calm her down.  Coulda used my sister then!

Surprise!!

2. Food!  Lots of glorious, delicious food.  Thanksgiving Part I was honeybaked ham, my homemade macaroni served in martini glasses, sweet-n-sour meatballs, and lots of appetizers.  Thanksgiving Part II was a full spread with Brian's great-grandmother and extended family in Abilene.  Three long tables full of multiple turkeys and every kind of side. Plus another tables of desserts!  Thanksgiving Part III was the traditional dinner at my parent's house, complete with smoked turkey, homemade rolls, my favorite dressing, green beans, sweet potatoes and pecan pie.  Thanksgiving Part IV was homemade enchiladas at my Uncle's house with queso and guac to start!  All of it was delicious!!

Macaroni & Cheese!

3. Movies!  I love to see movies over the holidays.  This year, we saw The Descendants and Hugo. George Clooney was so good in The Descendants; a good mix of funny and sad. Hugo was good too - the cinematography was beautiful, the story was intriguing and the acting was perfect.  I highly recommend both!  And guess what is coming out in 3D next year?? Beauty and the Beast AND Titanic! So excited about that.

4. Football! OMG, Baylor beat Texas Tech for the first time since the 1990s.  At 66-42, it was the highest scoring Big 12 game in school history. Even though our awesome quarterback RG3 got injured at the end of the first half, we STILL scored a ton in the second half.  The announcers even said that Baylor had "depth of roster", which is definitely a new compliment for Baylor!  We were so excited about the game!!

5. Starbucks! On Saturday, we had a little bit of time to kill after our movie and before Thanksgiving Part IV. I took my mom and my grandmothers to Starbucks for their FIRST visit ever.  Ever!  Mimi was so cute. I talked her through the menu and the different sizes (trying to explain why a small is a tall was a challenge). She ended up with a decaf mocha with whip and loved it. We stayed for about 45 minutes playing Apples to Apples and I think everyone had fun!

6. Shopping!  We boycotted Black Friday but participated in Small Business Saturday.  Who needs ridiculous store hours and crazy crowds?  Not me!  But I was happy to support our local pet store by buying Latte a new sweater on Saturday.  I don't particularly like dressing up dogs, but Latte gets SO cold in the winter that she really need sweaters.  She just sits and trembles with this pathetic face. So she has a few t-shirts and sweaters - absolutely no dresses or "outfits".  It's a fine line.