Thankful

I'm not sure it was my first Thanksgiving of cooking a whole meal...but it's my first in a long while. I was willing to cut a few corners (baked chicken instead of turkey?), but Mr.E insisted that we do it right...turkey, stuffing, the whole nine yards. Looking back, I'm glad he did. The menu was maple marinated and glazed turkey for Mr.E and I...meatloaf for the Monkey, stuffing, mashed cauliflower, green beans, gravy, yeast rolls, jello pretzel salad, and pumpkin cheesecake with maple-scented whipped cream. Every last bit of it made from scratch. We ate by candlelight and generally felt exceedingly Thanksgivingish.

And, to round out my culinary victory, I totally won my game of dishwasher-tetris! When it was all said and done, I only had to wash an 8x10 baking dish and 2 wine glasses by hand. Serious skills, yo.

This year was, I think, what Thanksgiving should be: a lovely meal that made me remember how grateful I am for the many good things in my life...these guys chief among them.


...very grateful indeed.