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I have two favorite weeks in the year, the week of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day (technically that's slightly over a week) and this week that includes Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

I love watching the Macy's parade, having our traditional Thanksgiving meal with family & friends and that evening starting to shift into Christmas mode.  Before Thursday night, there are no Christmas carols sung, no decorations out, no gifts being wrapped in Chez Moppins - it's all about Thanksgiving.  But once the guests go home, the Christmas radio station gets cranked up and it is Christmas 24/7 from that point until January 2nd.

Engineer and I have always gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving, not because there is some deal we have to have (I try to have all Christmas gifts taken care of before this point in the year) but because we enjoy the hustle and bustle of it all.  Our tradition is to go have Starbucks and walk around people watching.  If we happen to get a good deal in the process then so be it.

Last week we had plenty of our own hustle and bustle:

We joined the Life Center as a family.  We are trying to see if we can fit in working out as a family with our already fairly congested schedule.  I am hopeful.

Engineer attended a community government meeting.

I spoke at Pine Cove for a Lunch & Learn.

We all took a ride on the Polar Express.

I hosted some of my girlfriends for brunch with a menu of:

Texas Turtle Coffee

Pigs in a Blanket w/Cranberry Dijon Dipping Sauce

Spinach & Artichoke Puffs

Spinach & Mushroom Frittata

Mixed Green Salad w/Cranberry & Vidalia Onion Dressing

Marinated Mushrooms

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Snicker Bar Salad

Dark Chocolate Dipped Pumpkin Cheesecake Balls

  
On Saturday, Engineer was in and out of the house constantly while he was brewing.  Because of that, he left the door open and our dog Greta decided to go for a walk without us and we didn't see her leave.  It was pitch black outside and I had no idea how we were gong to find her.  Engineer drove around the neighborhood, I called and enlisted the help of family and neighbors to see if they had seen her.  My stomach sank at the thought of telling Diva that her beloved dog was missing.  I was outside calling Greta when our across the street neighbor said, "Are you missing a dog?"  I said yes, and that she was a Schnauzer.  My neighbor then proceeds to tell me that Greta had somehow gotten into her back yard and was having a ball playing with her Boston Terrier.  WHEW!  I called off the search parties and got Greta all warmed up (it was cold outside.)  What a way to end a week...not a way I'd like to repeat.

Here's what we will be eating this week:

Sunday - Finger Food Buffet
Monday - Black Eyed Peas, Salad, & Cornbread
Tuesday - Pot Roast & Salad
Wednesday - Garlicky Eggplant over Rice w/ Sauteed Cabbage
Thursday - Turkey *update* apparently Engineer really wanted to have a Turducken this year and has ordered one for our feast, Dressing, Gravy, Cranberry Chutney, Squash Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Green Salad, Sweet Potatoes, Pretzel Salad, Rolls, and Dessert (provided by my Mother-in-Law so I have no idea what it will be)
Friday - Date Night
Saturday - Leftovers

This is part of MPM.