My goodness, I can’t believe that it is Halloween!!! This month is extra long, but it zoomed past in the blink of an eye.
The cool weather has arrived, but we are still trick-or-treating.
Stay safe everyone, and have a very Happy Halloween!!!
looks like halloween
Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays. It’s right up there with Halloween. I love to cook a giant meal for the family, and make way too many desserts.
I start my Thanksgiving planning early, some would say a little too early.
For starters I cook a practice “thanksgiving” meal at least once a month from August through October. It helps me get the timing down on all of the dishes. It also helps me to remember how to cook a turkey. I keep the sides simple, and I love that there are always yummy leftovers from the practice.
When October rolls around I start making lists. I plan out the meal, desserts, and then a small snack dinner for the evening. I gather up recipes, and make a big shopping list. I also make a separate list starting with three weeks before, and ending up to the big day. I make notes on what needs to get done week by week. It looks a little like this:
Then I’ll go day by day with what task needs accomplished, and what dish to prepare ahead. The lists really help keep me on track. I can also delegate chores or meal prep to the kids if they want to get involved.
This year I’m doing something a bit different with the Thanksgiving supplies. I’m taking the big shopping list and breaking it down into about four weekly trips. I’ve cleaned off two shelves in the kitchen to organize the supplies and the serving dishes.
The little shopping trips here and there have been easier than one giant shopping trip. I’ve got the pantry stocked so far, and I’m heading out for frozen goods tomorrow. On Monday I’ll finish up with the fresh goods, and get to work.
There is still a lot to be done before Thanksgiving rolls around, but it will be fun getting there.
So it’s that time of year again and my seasonal affective disorder is absolutely kicking my butt. Call it Christmas blues, but no matter what this time of the year completely exhausts me. I am stressed out, worn out, and even my bones ache, I just want to sleep, and it happens every single year.
I go through the daily motions, smile and wave, wish a cheery holiday to all, but this time around, it is just getting to me badly. I know others feel the same way during the holiday season, and to be honest I take some comfort in that knowledge that I am not the only one.
I don’t despise Christmas, in fact I love the true meaning of Christmas, I love sharing a meal with loved ones, and even the soft pretty glow of Christmas lights at night. It is the mass commercialism, unabashed consumerism, and plastic nonsense that follows. The greed, the wants, and then the what’s next isn’t the real meaning of Christmas, but it is what I seem to see more and more.
I wish the holidays could be simple, peaceful, and honestly come with less things…
I’ll get off my soap-box now, thanks for listening.
Thanksgiving break started last week on Wednesday. The cooking started on Sunday. I just couldn’t wait… I love Thanksgiving, and baking lots of yummy treats for the family.
The kids were quickly bored, but I kept busy the entire time. Starting on Sunday I baked banana bread, and got my lists organized. Monday I got to babysit my darling nieces! Tuesday I finished up the shopping, and started baking all of the rolls. Wednesday was pies, desserts, casseroles, and my vegetarian dishes. Thursday was ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Thursday was the easiest day for me, I had so much already done, I got to hang out with my family a bit.
I did stick with my veggies! And I’m really proud of myself for it. I served the main Thanksgiving meal for lunch, and I put all of the non-veggie items, and family favorites on the buffet. I served all of the vegetarian items in the kitchen. It worked out pretty well.
It was an amazing Thanksgiving. We all had such a great time catching up, watching Football, and eating lots of tasty food. We even got to babysit one more time too.
Now that the kids are back in school, time to get the house back in order.