HAPPY THANKSGIVING and HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! She’s the coolest, older lady you’ll ever meet! Ask any of our friends, they’ll tell you. I must admit, it’s really weird not being home for Thanksgiving. It’s my first year in 25 years of my existence I’m not home. I cook dinner! Yes, I do! I’m not patting myself on the back but gosh darn it, the food was delicious! Check out the spread! I made cornbread stuffing, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and chicken and noodles. (Actually the chicken and noodles came frozen in the mail from home!) Brett cooked the turkey and ham, and we had a feast! We ate so much, but I’m so proud of us! We did so good! Now, I have so many leftovers, I won’t need to go grocery shopping until next Thanksgiving.
We do go to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning. We didn’t get a good spot. We woke up a little late. I mean, it was like we stayed up all night the night before, or something. Psh… =)
It was cool to see the balloons, but that’s pretty much all we saw. I wish I was little again to where I could hang out on my dad’s shoulders all morning. I quickly realize that these parents gave up the chance to see the parade, so their kids could see it. Ha! I don’t think so! It took me 18 years to get to the height I am now. My kids can wait just as long to be able to see over the tops of the taller people and those less fortunate in height at a parade! I’ll be the mom who straps her kid into the stroller, parks it and locks it to a bike rack, and shoves her way to the front for some free candy! ;) Lol! I’m just kidding! I won’t strap them to a bike rack, but you bet I’ll be the one fighting for a Snickers bar! I don’t care if you are five years old! ;)
After the parade, cooking, then eating…we crash! We both sleep about three hours. Ahh…it was so nice! When we wake up, we’re trying to decide what to do on Thanksgiving night. We get ready and start walking around Times Square. The City Sights bus tour was in full swing, so we hop on! It’s one of those double-decker buses that take you around the city. The fact that it was night outside was amazing, because we got to see New York at night, during the holiday season when the stores and streets are lined with Christmas lights!
The tour was awesome! We learned a lot of fun facts, like NYC used to have trains that ran above the city streets, instead of below. Cool, huh? My favorite part was going across the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn. I really like it there. It’s very quiet and a little more suburbia living. We go to the Fulton Pier and look out over Manhattan. It was insanely beautiful. Brett and I were standing there and he goes, “Is it weird looking over there, knowing that’s where you live?” It was so crazy looking at the crowded and cramped city, realizing that in fact, this is now my home. I feel like I’m still on vacation, or something. But no. This is my home and looking at it from a distance gave me chills. It’s truly incredible to look at a 13-mile strip of island, filled with millions of people, and realizing that you have the opportunity to live there and pursue your dreams and make your life into the fabulous life you’ve always imagined and aspired for yourself.
Note to self: Doing is the best way to learn. When cooking your first Thanksgiving feast, make sure you know what you’re doing and what tools you’re using. Don’t try and use the grapefruit peeler as a knife, or a lettuce knife to cut your sweet potatoes. I promise you, it’s difficult and not worth it! When you have a ghetto can opener that won’t turn, so you have to “cut” the can open with individual slices with the stupid contraption, go buy a new one you cheapo! Pay attention to when you put your mashed sweet potatoes into the oven, so you don’t have sweet potatoes spilling out over your dish onto your stove. Make sure you have enough cans of green beans for the casserole, so you don’t have to add peas to make it thicker and denser. Things always go wrong, regardless of it’s your first time doing something or not, but hey…how are you supposed to learn if you never do it? Just go for it! Make the mistakes, laugh about it, then move on! Be proud of those mistakes, because at the end of the day, they aren’t mistakes! They’re great tasting food!