But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,' Charlie Brown.

It's finally Thanksgiving! I've been looking forward to this all month! It's my first time hosting Thanksgiving and doing the cooking. I normally just do the baking and call it a day. I made my pumpkin pie last night and I'm currently getting the potatoes ready for garlic mashed potatoes. Later on today I'll be cooking the turkey, baking biscuits, and cooking up stuffing. There will be a total of seven of us. Ben, Sam, Jason, JB, and JB's girlfriend are coming over. Sam and Ben are bringing an appetizer, Jason is bring over a chocolate cake, and JB and his girlfriend will be bringing over a second appetizer. I have the table all decorated and ready to go. Jake is off getting chairs, table settings, a few serving utensils, and lamps from his parents' house (they are off camping).

I truly have so much to be thankful for today. My family is such an amazing support system. They've helped me out so much in the last six months and there is no way for me to ever repay that. I'm lucky to have such a loving family. I'm also thankful for the friends I've had for such a long time. The ones who have stood by me through thick and thin. They've let me cry and scream and vent and still stood by me. Friends like those are definitely hard to come by and I cherish the fact that I am so fortunate to have them in my life. I'm thankful for the new friends I've made this year. They accept me for who I am and understand my idiosyncrasies. We're all so different because of where we grew up and yet we all seem to mesh so well. I enjoy the laughs we have, usually at my expense, and the adventures we go on. I'm so thankful to be accepted into Jake's family. His parents are just wonderful and caring. They've taken me on hiking adventures, allowed me to stay with them for days on end, and have treated me like I'm one of their own. It has definitely made being away from my parents much easier. Jason and I have managed to form a friendship that is quite unique. The more time I spend with the boys the more I enjoy their personalities. Jason includes me in more than he should without asking for anything in return. It definitely makes me miss being able to spend time with my own brothers, but Jason does a good job of teasing me like my own do. Lastly, I'm thankful to have Jake in my life. He has seen me at worst and yet still sticks around. He is so helpful and handy. He accepts me for who I am, city slicker and all. He goes way above and beyond what is necessary without expecting anything in return. He has stood by me through the moves and unemployment and has never judged...

This is a start of a new adventure and I am so thankful to have everyone that is in my life, near and far. I may not drive a fancy car or have flashy things, but I am so rich in other ways it is truly incredible.

Pre-K Teacher: Where does milk come from? 5 year old me: The farm store!!

I grew up in what is now a big city. Sure, Coral Springs wasn't ALWAYS a big city. Heck, even South Florida wasn't always so metropolitan. However, as far back as I can remember it has always been a big city to me. I don't remember farms on Ives Dairy Road. I know they were there at SOME point because the street name says so. I grew up learning the basics. Cows say moo and give us milk and red meat. Pigs go oink and give us bacon. Chickens cluck and make great football snacks and eggs. The basics. Cows are black and white... Sometimes brown and white. Chickens were always white as far as I was concerned, and pigs all looked like Babe.

Holy crap how uneducated I am.

These are quotes from today alone that prove how big of a city slicker I am:

Me: Alpacas look funny. The have a llama face on a giraffe like neck on a furry goat body...
Jake: Alpacas are mini llamas...
Me: Well, llamas look funny, too! It's like another version of the platypus. God must have been having issues the day he made llamas, alpacas and the platypus.

Me (after seeing a SUPER hairy creature with HUGE horns): What in the hell IS that thing?!?!
Jake (very calmly): That is what we call a cow

Me: Soo.... Are there boy dairy cows?
Jake: Yes. It's called a bull
Me: So what do we do with the boy dairy cows? We can't milk them, right??
Jake: You can, but I don't think they'd call that milk...
Me: Point made... So what do we do with them??
Jake: We eat them, unless it's a good bull. Then you keep mating it.

Me: So, do people cross breed cows? You know, like how they do that with dogs...
Jake: You can, but farmers have pretty much figured out what cows go best with other cows
Me: So we don't have any more mutt cows running around??
Jake: No... No mutt cows

Me: Why aren't there any sheep farms? What is with all the goats??
Jake: It rains too much here. The wool will shrink
Me (thinking to myself so as not to sound even more dumb): He totally means AFTER the wool is sheared off the sheep, right? He can't possibly mean the rain shrinks the wool ON the sheep....

One would think I have come a long way from saying that horses say "Hello, Wilbur" and that milk comes from the farm store.... Clearly I have not.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Jake and Jason's birthday. Since I can't afford to buy them anything (not that either one really NEEDS anything) I decided to have Jason over for a birthday dinner. I am making my Whiskey Cola BBQ flank steak (it's been marinating all morning so far) and for sides we'll have rice and salad. I also rummaged through my baking cabinet (yes, I have a cabinet filled with baking ingredients) I decided to bake Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt (found on Ghirardelli's website). The cookies are finally finished and the look and smell amazing! I have 2.5 dozen- 1 dozen for each boy and 1/2 dozen for me!)

Now I have to run out to Bed, Bath and Beyond to return the couch covers we bought. The size listed on the packaging isn't very accurate and they didn't fit our couches. I'm not going to lie- I'm kinda happy about it because the couch ones weren't the exact same fabric as the one we got for the recliner. I found the matching couch covers for 50% off on the actual company's website so I ordered them! Can't wait til they arrive because then our family room will be complete! Woo Hoo!

A month of blogging in one single post

I know, I know. I've been a HUGE slacker in the blogging world. Things have been so crazy and stressful and busy that I just couldn't find the right mindset to sit and blog. The biggest reason for this is because we haven't had internet in the house and I've had to go to the library to use theirs. I hate the feeling that strangers might be looking at what I'm doing. It freaks me out. Knowing this I would only go for the bare minimum that I needed to be there for. I'd job hunt, check my Facebook and other various forums, check my email, then jet. I wouldn't even read the news which lead me to feel very out of the loop and less worldly. BUT- Today we got internet! I'm so proud of myself because I set up the router all on my own, and this new N-router was a tricky bugger! SO, let me recap the past month's events:

I've been living in Washington for just over a month. The weather can be so beautiful on some days and so dreary on others. I'm relishing the nice days because soon we will only have dreary days until March. The temps are dropping steadily which is pretty exciting because that means SNOW! I may not be cut out for winter weather yet, but I'm totally looking forward to taking the Jeep and other trucks up into the hills/mountains and letting Sassy run wild in the snowy woods.

Sassy has been adjusting fairly well. She had a rough day a couple of weeks ago that resulted in turning the bathroom wall into a snack. After trying to find a solution that would work for the two of us we determined that she wasn't going to work out here. Sassy must have tugged on Jake's heart string because he left to get supplies to repair the wall and came home with the supplies and a huge crate. He and Ben wired the crate to make sure she couldn't break out of it. She has yet to find her inner Houdini. Keeping our fingers crossed that she continues to enjoy her space.

The moving saga is done with. I just finished filling out my claim form. Not on ly were they late, they gave me a good portion of my things in pieces. Not acceptable. Period. If I could have hit someone, I would have. Thank god Jake is so mild mannered and he just takes my screaming and stomping and pouting with a grain of salt and shrugs his shoulders. He really stepped up to the plate and took control of things when I finally lost it.

The job hunt is still going on. I went to the unemployment office here to turn in a resume and was deeply saddened by what I saw. Too many moms out of work. Too many people sitting in that office, hoping. One person said he's been dealing with this off and on for 2 years now. It frightens me. I hope I can at least find a decent part time job. Sitting at home and only bringing in a weekly check of $125 makes me feel useless. Jake is so supportive but I know it must be weighing on him. He can't continue to carry the load like he is. I don't know what else I can do to help. I'm hoping that my Thirty-One business will start to pick up. I have a party on November 8th that will hopefully generate sales and future customers.

Speaking of Thirty-One... This month has two AMAZING specials going on. It makes me wish I had more money so I could afford some of these products just for the deals. From now til November 22 you can get this cute little cube for a whopping $1 if you spend $31. This thing normal goes for $12. Talk about an amazing deal! They are surprisingly versatile, too. They hold a TON of toiletries, which can clear up the bathroom counter. They also make GREAT gift bags for friends and family. From November 23-December 12 for every $31 you can get one of the following for only $5: a Cinch Sack, All In One Organizer, Flat Iron Case, Soft Wallet, or the Zipper Pouch! What a tough decision!

Let's talk about Jake for a minute, since so many people ask me about him. He is truly a wonderful guy. He took Sassy and me to a local pumpkin patch. I had never been to one before so it was an exciting trip for me. We picked out three pumpkins to carve. He helped carved them into the perfect designs: a paw print for Sassy, Jack Skellington (on a white pumpkin!) for me, and I picked the Pi symbol for his. He hangs things without even a mutter about how he jsut got home from work. He splits the house chores with me. He plays with and brushes Sassy on a daily basis (and spoils her rotten). I discovered today that he has kept every silly little thing I sent him when we lived on different coasts. He kept the Valentine's Day card, a silly puzzle I made him, and napkins with little notes written on them for his lunches. He always reaches out for my hand when we're out and about. He pays for things without a single complaint and always offers words of encouragement when I get down about things. He is truly a loving person and I'm really lucky to have him in my life. He laughs at my silly questions and never (ok, not NEVER, but only SOMETIMES) makes fun of me when I ask him something that is so obvious that I should have known the answer (like why the old houses have power lines attached to the roofs and that hens don't need a rooster to get the job done).

That's pretty much everything that is going on here. The house is almost entirely unpacked. Exciting for me, but I'll be bored once it's done. I'll upload pictures once everything is put away and all the rooms are picture worthy. OH! One last thing- I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner for all of us misfits with no families (Jake's parents are going camping for the holiday). I'm really excited to be able to do this. Friends, after all, are the family that we get to pick. Plus I get to enjoy having Jason (Jake's twin) over, which is nice because the more I hang out with the two of them the more I laugh. They really are funny together, now that they don't live together.