November 30, 2008

A Sunday Night

Right now I am sharing the couch with two Bulldogs and Scouters. Aaron is at the Vikings/Bears game, where I should be too, but I opted out. A 7:15 p.m. kick-off was just too late for me after such a busy weekend.

On Thanksgiving Day we traveled to the South suburbs to his aunt and uncle's to spend the holiday with his entire maternal side of the family. I met his three cousins and their spouses and children, and of course we played a lot of Texas Hold 'Em. I'd never played poker till I met A and his family. His grandfather, a former Golden Gloves boxer, is a card man, and it's a hobby he passed on to his four kids. It's always a fun time, but it's a little unnerving when you're the only one left in with Grandpa and he goes all in and you have to take him out. Sorry Grandpa.

We dubbed Friday our day of fun, but it ended up being a day of work, as we cleaned the house and pulled all our Christmas decorations out of storage and unpacked and sorted it all. That night we drove back down south, where one of A's uncles treated everyone to dinner at Maggiano's. It worked out that we sat at a table with the cousins we didn't sit with the day before, so I felt like I really had a chance to get to talk with everyone.

On Saturday went over to my father-in-law's where we had a second Thanksgiving meal with my FIL's inlaws. They are definitely foodies, so the meal didn't disappoint. Aaron and I provided the turkey (courtesy of Aaron's company), and my FIL brined it for three days and butterflied it. It was ridiculous. At my request, my husband made his famous mac and cheese, which was a big hit as always. It is no diet food, but I don't even care.

After dinner we stopped by a tree farm and picked out a beautiful seven-foot Fraser Fir. It now sits in our living room decorated and lovely. My mother has taught me many, many things, but one of the things I am happy to have learned well is how to put lights on a tree. It's a skill you only need to employ once a year, but it's a nice skill to have.

The only disappointment of the weekend is that I have yet to have my annual Gingerbread Latte. But I plan to rectify that soon, I promise!

Posted by hannah at 08:27 PM