Thanksgiving | Book Chatter

Give Thanks

What is it with everyone this year?

Christmas began to creep into stores early October and now it’s full-blown Christmas everywhere you go. I used to love waking up the day after Thanksgiving and seeing the stores transformed into a Christmas wonderland. It signaled the arrival of Christmas and it was so exciting!

This year, I am struggling with it. I love Christmas for a lot of reasons but I love Thanksgiving too and I feel as if it’s getting the shaft big time this year. How do you avoid the holiday “creep”? Or do you? Maybe you just give into it. I feel pressured to start my shopping but you know what happens when I shop early? I forget how much I’ve gotten and I end up with a lot of extra stuff and really, none of it is needed. Sometimes, I even forget to wrap stuff and find it later! That has happened to me at least three times.

This whole holiday thing has really been on my mind lately. Has it been on yours? When I get like this, it helps to jot stuff down that makes me happy and I invite you all to join me. I’m grateful for so many things and taking a moment to focus on Thanksgiving keeps it real.

Things to look forward to between now and Thanksgiving:

Slowly planning the holiday meal. Usually I make the same things but there are a couple of new dishes that I add to mix it up a little. This recipe, was a new dish that I tried when I went gluten-free and it became a staple.
Time off! I am taking the week of Thanksgiving off. I try to every year, but this year with all of the job changes at work, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to. I’m looking forward to the time off.
Coming up with my Thanksgiving reading list. I’ve got the week off, I must have stuff to read. I don’t always stick to the list but it’s fun to make one.
Sitting down with my December calendar and having a come to Jesus moment. Mapping out December can be a little stressful for some, but I take comfort in knowing what I’ve got coming up. I geek out when it comes to my planner.
If the weather cools down, it will be nice to take some walks with the Otter Pup. It’s been warm so I’ve left that job to The Hub but as the decorations go up, it’s fun to walk around the neighborhood.
Coming up with my holiday playlist. For both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I tend to not listen to music all that often. Weird, but around the holidays I really like it.
Movie watching! I watch a lot of movies this time of year. A must-watch movie: A Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It puts me in the mood for Christmas. We usually watch it on Thanksgiving day.
Spending Thanksgiving day with my immediate family which is just the four of us and the pup. We lounge around in our pajamas, eat and eat and just enjoy each other’s company. I cherish this time together.

Your turn! What are you looking forward to between now and Thanksgiving?

My post is late today because I forgot it was Sunday! That’s what happens after having a week off. Man, just the thought of going to work tomorrow is enough to make me drink. Almost.

Once I got the obligatory doctor’s appointments out-of-the-way, the week was very nice. I seriously do not know why I feel the need to book appointments during my vacation but it always works out that way. But, once they were over and done with, I settled in to cooking, reading and listening to Christmas music. All was right with the world.

I did not go shopping on Thanksgiving.

I did not go shopping the day AFTER Thanksgiving.

Nope, I did not do any of it. Instead, I sat on the couch and read Sputnik Sweetheart for #readingsputnik and I think it’s my favorite Murakami thus far and I’ve nearly read them all now. I think the only one I have not read is A Wild Sheep Chase. Man, Sputnik Sweetheart was really good and just what I needed to get the reading mojo back in full swing.

Those who read it with me, what did you think? I have to write my review up but I am still thinking about the story.

What am I reading?

I am now rushing to finish The Abominable. I’ve been reading it for awhile now but it’s due on Tuesday and so I have to really pick up the pace It’s very good and I am enjoying it a lot but I still haven’t gotten to the scary bits. That Simmons! He sure takes awhile to build up the story.

What am I cooking?

Oh my goodness. I am so sick of cooking that we are picking up Thai food tonight. I am sick of food yet at the same time starving for it. That’s what happens when you eat a lot of high fat foods when you are not used to eating them. You crave them and yet your body can’t deal with them.

How did the meal turn out? Pretty darn good but those gluten-free rolls could double as boulders in my garden. Add them to the list of Pinterest fails! My daughter even asked if I had cooked them since they were still lily-white when I took them out. Everything else was great but after cooking and tasting all day long, I didn’t want any of it by the time I put it on the table.

What am I watching?

I have been watching a lot of movies since U-verse had all of their movie channels for free this weekend. I watched the Oz movie with Franco and it was pretty good. I watched Tootsie and Mannequin and Love Actually. I also watched hours and hours of I Love Lucy, Seinfeld and Roseanne. I did watch Christmas Vacation but must watch it again as I was in full cooking mode while it was on.

Tonight is the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, so I will be glued, literally GLUED to the TV later.

On a sad note, Paul Walker, the actor from the Fast and Furious movies died in a car crash after a charity event he was attending close to where I live. It’s been all over the news but given that the wreck happened so close to me, I am especially sad for him and his family. The irony of it all is especially unsettling, isn’t it?

That’s all I have. I hope you all had a wonderful week and that this upcoming week is kind to all of us.

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