Turkey Day run-down

I hope you all had a really great Thanksgiving! I did. As I expected, I wasn't up for much eating, but I did manage to shovel down some of my father-in-law's amazing fried turkey (I had a pile of it on my plate that I should have been ashamed of, but I wasn't) and some yummy stuffing made by my mother-in-law, and a really, really good roll. No pie for me this year.

The cheesecake I made (from Pioneer Woman's website) had a good flavor, but the crust was hard as a rock and difficult to chew. Gross. My dad liked the flavor, though, so hopefully he'll polish off the rest of it since I left it at their house.

My husband decided to tell me about my Christmas gift early this year because he wanted my input on the specifics of what to get. Here's what he bought for me on Friday and before you say it, I will: I'm spoiled.
KitchenAid 5-Quart 475-watt Professional Stand Mixer

Mine is silver to match the stainless steel appliances in our kitchen. It came with the 4 mixing bowls and the KitchenAid timer. I'm going to have SO much fun making holiday treats with this mixer! Thanks, D! He really knows what I like!

D & I drove down to Oregon on Thursday night after Thanksgiving with his parents. No traffic - we got there around 11:45pm. The next morning my sisters picked me up at 5:15 and we headed to Kohl's. Carrie was able to get a couple of Christmas gifts bought, whereas I just bought a few baby outfits and a Christmas cookie stand for myself. The three of us bought 'Baby's 1st Thanksgiving' outfits that match but that aren't exactly the same...I can't wait to see all the babies in their outfits next year!

After that, the guys and my parents met us at a local restaurants for our annual "Black Friday" breakfast. I've been craving ham, so I had ham and toast then got fruit instead of hashbrowns. I can't wait until Christmas dinner when my mom will serve a HoneyBaked Ham...I'm salivating just thinking about it. Mom, if it's not HoneyBaked that's okay, too - any ham will do! My mom isn't a big ham person - she wanted to do hamburgers or steak. But, when 3 pregnant daughters simultaneously gagged at the thought of beef, she caved. What a nice mom!

Mom, Carrie, Lindsay and I hit a local craft store then the mall after breakfast. JC Penny had a really great deal on men's dress slacks. Normally $60 each, they were marked down to $23 with the "early bird" discount on top of the sale price. I also found a pair of nice khaki-colored maternity pants and a red maternity sweater at JC Penny. I'm currently wearing both because they're so comfortable. I love that the pants don't fall down, but I can tell that they'll grow with me. Right about the time we were done at JC Penny, we were kind of done shopping, too. But, we stopped in Motherhood Maternity and my lovely mother bought me a nice assortment of maternity clothes. Thanks, Mom (& Dad)!

On Saturday I helped Mom put up her Christmas decorations then later we all met for family pictures at a local photography studio. That night, it was decorating the tree and watching "It's a Wonderful Life" while the men in the family played cards.

Yesterday after church we ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant. I always hate leaving Oregon - it's always hard to come back home. I know I'm blessed to have family that I love to be around (on both sides!).

Tonight, I start on Christmas cards.

Gobble, gobble.