It's been 18 years since I did a full, gung-ho, Thanksgiving at my house.  It's crazy that it has been that long, but I just realized it as I pulled things together today.  I got it all done.  It wasn't phenomenal, but it was pretty tasty.  I am pretty pleased with myself.  Since I had to also entertain a kid and ensure she didn't pull out every toy while I cooked this was no small feat.

There was turkey breast and ham, mashed and sweet potatoes, cooked carrots, a broccoli casserole, salad, stuffing, rolls, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, gravy, and desserts (our guest brought apple pie to go along w/ the no bakes).

It is a bit dreary out today, but the temps are nice -- so, at Avery's prompting, we took a walk after dinner, which made us feel less guilty about the subsequent pie.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I am sure you are back wondering if I was successful with my plan for today.  I was able to make the run to the grocery store immediately after dropping Avery off at school.  Getting that done at 8am set the pace for me.  I came home and started messing with Christmas decorations -- so I got the wreaths up on the exterior of the windows!

I had a 10am chiro appointment, turns out that was my only self care for the day since I could get in during my window for a pedi.  After the chiro appointment I spoke with a recruiter. I periodically get emails and usually there is too much anxiety over a change to consider it.  Right now I'm so exhausted that I decided it wouldn't hurt to give her a few minutes of my day to see what she had to discuss.  It's a position in Pittsburgh, which is of very little interest to me.  Let's be honest -- any type of commute is going to make me frown after been able to work remotely for the past nearly 4 years.

After all of that I got the cranberry sauce and no bakes checked off too.  I then made a run to Aldi, because they had an item that I wanted to snag for a Christmas gift.

I picked Avery up and headed to the mall because Santa was supposed to be there.  I got her all dressed up in the back of the car and re-did her ponytails only to walk in and not find Santa there.  I am not too happy about having driven 25 minutes in one direction for that specific purpose to not find him.  They've advertised that he's there.  When I looked earlier in the week on the website there were openings -- although this year I was just going to walk up instead of scheduling because there was rarely much of a line in years past.  I even called the mall today and their office phone line indicated he would be there.

Of course, this is the same office that was supposed to be open until 5 today but was black when I went up to ask them for the actual schedule.  Their facebook page indicates he is there too, the latest post says they encourage reservations whereas an older one said they were required.  *sigh*  I just want to make sure we don't miss out on this little bit of normalcy.  This year has stunk.  My kid is at the perfect age to really enjoy this.  Please don't ruin it for us all.

The regular Thanksgiving get together we typically attend was cancelled a few weeks back.  Another one of my favorite egg's aunts volunteered to host, but let's be honest, it probably isn't the best idea to have 20-ish people together.  I will be cooking.  I've made a few bigger meals like this, but it's been a while.  I'm not going all out, but there is plenty to do.

I got a jump start tonight.  The carrots and sweet potatoes are peeled and cut up in their cooking vessels.  The mashing potatoes are washed (ready to peel).  But more importantly I made my list of what I am going to make, gathered the materials I will need from my stockpiles, and made my list of items I need to grab from the store tomorrow.  Don't worry -- I pulled the turkey breast to defrost on Sunday.

I am supposed to be off tomorrow.  Maybe the abundance of things I need to do will be enough to keep me from spending too much time working.  My goal for tomorrow is to make the cranberry sauce and a batch of no bakes, hit the grocery store, maybe get in for a pedi, and to pick up Avery from daycare early.  Oh -- and I have to clean a bit too, because we invited Avery's EGP over for Tgiving dinner.

Because I wasn't sore enough...  I got motivated yesterday.  It was time to work towards addressing the mess in the basement.

As part of the process I put all of the Halloween decorations together, which will help future me.  I also brought a good bit of Christmas stuff upstairs to queue up.

I tossed two of the dog crates that I have had for over 20 years.  I mean, I guess if I get another dog someday they could have been used, but the doors were rusted and bent (thanks to Danika) and looking rough.  I have pressure washed them in the past and bought replacement doors, but seriously, they can go.  I still have one extra large one if need be for Saffy.  That one could use a new door too.

Long story short it looks way larger than it did before.  I need another day when I feel like tossing things to really make some progress.  I also have space to accommodate two more sets of shelves.  Part of the problem is that the plastic bins are just a wee bit too big to go on most of the shelves.  What I would really like, although they're kinda expensive for what they are, are ceiling mounted storage racks.  One of those in the garage and one in the basement would rock.  I know me though too - if I got one I'd be afraid to hang it for fear I wouldn't get it up right.

Hair Despair

Remember my first appointment to get my hair done after all of the COVID stuff started?  Back then they emailed that someone in there tested positive shortly after my visit; they had not contacted me directly as being someone that was in close proximity.  Well, this time I got a call.  I was there on Tuesday afternoon and my stylist tested positive on Wednesday.  So yay for that.  At least I look good.  There were masks and all precautions.  I'm not worried, at least not any more than I am every day, because I think we're all going to get it eventually.  Don't get me wrong, I am not loving it.

Dog

Saf's nails have been clicking and clacking on the floor for a super long time.  Attempts to get them trimmed for years has failed - she won't let the vet office or the kennel do more than 2 or 3 at a time.

I am happy to report that I spotted another mobile groomer coming into the community earlier this week. I called and left a message hoping they could squeeze Saf in.  She called me back and swung by.  I was able to get in the van to help keep Saf stable and well praised.  Praise God all nails are trimmed!  She has to be more comfortable.  It is crazy how much better this makes me feel.

Shoulder

I have been dealing with pain in my shoulder area for months now.  I continue to go to the chiropractor and for monthly massages.  I really thought it was a knot like I had years ago and we'd get it addressed.  I thought it was from carrying a 35#+ kid more often than I should, so I backed off on that.  Unfortunately, I'm still struggling.  They are pretty sure it is bicipital tendonitis so my options are to stop sitting with my arms up on a desk/keyboard all day or... not.  Well the first isn't really an option.  Heck I've been doing closer to 45-50 hours as a week trying to get everything done and often working part of the weekend, so if anything I'm forced to do the exact opposite.

The chiro suggested contacting my PCP yesterday to see if they would consider any other treatment, in specific perhaps steroid to reduce the swelling.  Their response was to continue physical therapy -- as in chiro.

All I know is I am about done with this.  There is always a discomfort there - and if I move the wrong way it feels like a muscle instantly knots up producing a fair amount of shooting pain.  It effects my sleep.  It hurts to put on deodorant, it hurts to shave my armpit, I'm trying to relearn how to wipe myself with my other arm to avoid the pain that happens there, I can't easily take a shirt off... and worst of all I can't scoop my kid up.

I am pretty sure I mentioned getting an Instant Pot for Mother's day (at my request).  This past weekend I pulled it out to cook a brisket.  I do love brisket from bbq joints, but I've never managed to make one that was tender despite long/slow cooking attempts.  Success!  It was delish.  It still takes quite some time to make -- and would have probably been better had I put it to sit with the dry rub the day before.

Trying to make something new inspired me.  I had to hunt down something different to make with it and found a recipe to make my own creamed corn.  It was a good way to use a bag of frozen corn cut from fresh ears and turned out pretty decent.  I also pulled a couple of bananas from the freezer and pulled together a batch of my choco-cream-cheese-banana bread.  It was a tasty Sunday.

It has been a week since the election.  In true 2020 style... it remains up in the air and not looking like there is an end in sight.

I don't think we'll ever know who legitimately won the election, but I am pretty confident there were lots of improprieties.  I still believe firmly that Donald Trump is who we need in office for another 4 years and I am fearful of what the Biden, wait, let's call it like it is, what the Harris presidency would entail.  All I can do right now is pray that the truth comes forward.  I am praying for our nation hard.

I know some of my friends disagree with me. I still call you friends, I hope you feel the same.

Holy moly what happened to October? Either way I am glad that we are almost to the point where the robo calls, text messages, and incessant political ads will come to a halt.  Let the news of cities on fire begin, right?

Halloween was nice - the weather was way better than last year and Avery had a blast.  Avery had her dinosaur costume for the school parade, which narrowly avoided the rain since it was outside this year.  For the neighborhood she rocked a Zero the dog costume we pulled together at the 11th hour - after my sister finished crocheting the most awesome zero hat for her.

My sister and niece were in for nearly two weeks, so I was running at about 50% for work.  During that timeframe our other sister also came out.  My house was full and busy!  I didn't get enough of a mental break though, so I am sitting here wiped out at the moment.  I prb doesn't help that I committed myself to a fast today.  The headache is real - despite allowing myself my allotment of caffeine this morning.