NaNo Books in Progress

Friday, November 29, 2013

November 29th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

It’s the morning after, and I’m so tired and I’m so sore, my hair even hurts. Thanksgiving is a LOT of work!

I had planned on eating at six last night, and I think I did pretty well. We were only about fifteen minutes behind schedule, and I only forgot one thing. We sit down at the table, four people short of who I thought was coming, and my husband asks, “Where’s the stuffing?” Dang it! The one thing I didn’t have prepped because it only takes a few minutes and I didn’t want it to take up oven space. So, while everybody’s dishing out, I go make the stuffing. DISCLAIMER: I used to actually make stuffing and it would take quite a bit of time to make, but everyone loves Stove Top, so I figured stuffing was one corner I could cut and not feel guilty about it.

So, stuffing crisis averted. We all had a yummy meal. I broke out the containers and divvied up all the leftovers, so everyone walked away with another Thanksgiving dinner, including leaving enough home for the four of us. I loaded the dishwashers once, started doing the remaining dishes by hand, my daughter unloaded the dishwashers, I loaded them again, and then finished the last dishes by hand.

It is mind blowing how many dishes get used for Thanksgiving. Before dinner, all of the dishes I had used to prep the food where already washed and put away, several of the pots were washed, and the turkey roaster was washed. The four loads of dishes were just the plates, glasses, silverware and serving dishes we used.

Now today, I get to put all this stuff away…yeah. For the holidays, like I’m sure many people do, I pull out the good china, so all of that needs to be packed away again. I also use my aunt’s pots to prepare, so they need to get stored in the basement again. The folding tables need to get dragged outside and the furniture needs to be put back in place. (We don’t have a dining room, so our Thanksgiving dinner takes place in our family room.) The floor needs to be mopped, the vacuum needs to be run, and then I get to drag all the Christmas stuff upstairs because tomorrow we are having our tree decorating party. Just shoot me now…please.

Other than going to the grocery store to pick up some stuff I need for tomorrow, I am NOT Black Friday shopping. My daughters, on the other hand, are out with their grandmother, aunt and cousins at Jersey Gardens. My son PJ and his girlfriend Alex are out, God knows where, shopping; and my husband is off to work, so he’ll be out in the mess as well. No thank you. What about you? Are you braving the crowds?

One last funny story before I close, I took the dog out this morning just as it was getting light out. I heard a strange noise and I looked up toward the sound. Directly overhead was a navy and red hot air balloon. It took a minute for Colby to spot the balloon, but when he did he went bat guano. He was wagging his tail so hard his body was literally shaking, and he was barking his head off. (I’m sure the neighbors just loved that at 6:30 in the morning.) Colby wanted to get at that balloon in the worst way, and I had a devil of a time getting him back in the house. My dog is such a nut!

Okay, I’m off to Ireland. I have less than 1,800 to go, so I’ll probably be finished today. Even if I finish today, I will still post one last chapter tomorrow for you to read. I want to thank you all again for reading as I wrote. I don’t think I would have made my NaNoWriMo goal if you hadn’t been.

I hope you have a fabulous day. Safe and productive shopping if you are out there in the insanity. And, Happy writing!
 

Your Last Challenge was to spend a wonderful day with your family. I hope you all took me up on my challenge!


Your Next Challenge is:

 

Tell a little something about you and the holidays – what makes them special for you, a tradition you’re pretty sure is only done by your family, you’re little holiday secret, whatever you’d like to share.

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

No comments:

Post a Comment