It rained for a while this morning, but now the sun is out and it’s supposed to be a pretty decent day (currently 54 with an expected high of 61). Having some natural light in the house will definitely help me feel more in the spirit when it’s time to start decorating! I always break out my Christmas stuff the day/weekend after Thanksgiving, and it gets put away no later than New Year’s Day.
Thanksgiving dinner wound up being really nice. My friend’s godmother did not cancel, and everyone was glad she decided to join us. But she was ready to leave shortly after we finished dessert, which was only about 3 hours after we arrived. I considered taking her home and then going back to my friends’, because normally I would have stayed for a while longer, but I decided that it was probably just as well for me to head home to Bailey.
Food-wise, I ate everything I wanted to: garlic bread, turkey, stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, a chocolate chip cookie, and a decent-sized slice of apple pie (with Cool Whip!). I was uncertain of how I’d tolerate that much carbs/sugar, but I felt fine the whole day/night! I think it helped that I didn’t go crazy with the side dishes. So, it seems that now I can officially eat pretty much whatever I want (physically). Although I worry about my continued weight loss success resting fully on my ability to make critical psychological/emotional changes, on the whole I’m glad to have minimal physical restrictions. And I do feel like the needed changes are possible, between therapy and my support group and really not wanting to go back to where I was a year ago.
OK, here’s a question for y’all: is there a difference between green beans and string beans? They have always tasted different to me. After surgery I did some Googling, and the internets say they are the same thing – but I only like string beans! My friend had canned green beans at the table yesterday, and I couldn’t eat them. I tried, because with my newfound internets knowledge I thought maybe not liking them was just psychological, but nope: I really dislike the taste. Maybe it’s the liquid they’re canned in…?
Nice cartoons, doggio! I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. 
That was you!! You posted a photo of it last year, and I remember being impressed/jealous! 
If I ever have the space to keep them on display year-round I might look into something like that (or even try to hire you!). Right now, though, I kind of like having them only out at Christmas. My eat-in kitchen gets the morning light, so I hang them from a metal ornament tree on the table in front of that window and enjoy all of the morning rainbows for a month.
I’ve been into crystal figurines since high school, but I only have the annual snowflakes going back to maybe 2005. A friend gave me the first one, and I think I bought one more for myself…then a couple years later I got into a serious relationship with a guy who was horrible at gift-giving, so I told him to just get me a snowflake for Christmas every year and I’d be happy. After we broke up my best friends got me that year’s snowflake, and it became a tradition (they are awesome friends!). At some point I went online and bought the ones for the years I was missing, and also replaced one I’d managed to break. These days I’m a Swarovski Crystal Society (SCS) member: the SCS has its own annual snowflake, but I’m sticking with the only collecting the “main” snowflakes. They could get out of hand quite quickly! LOL!
There is an MMP FAQ that might help.
Thank you! I did bring some turkey home, but I hardly ever have leftovers so this will be good to keep in mind. I’m hoping the turkey won’t last much past tomorrow, though.
If my friend ever put raisins in her apple pie I think her husband and I would both reconsider our relationships with her… 
Time for lunch (leftover turkey!) and then some decorating! 
I will need to log into work at some point later, to sign my timesheet/approve my employees’ timesheets and send my weekly report to my boss, but that won’t be until closer to dinnertime and should only take about an hour and I won’t really mind. On the whole, today should be a good mix of doing some decorating and doing nothing much at all. 