[BillBlueEyes]

Prepare. It's the week of U.S. Thanksgiving. We've been training all year for this, guys. We can master this situation.

That's what we need - a pep talk like before a big game by a firm, authoritarian coach, LOL.

The good news for us is that we join friends at Thanksgiving - at their house. So there won't be any stuffing left over around here. Bad news is that there won't be any left over turkey either. Left over turkey sandwich with everything is a childhood favorite.

I continue to be mobile on my crutches; slightly embarrassed at the amount of attention I receive when there are folks with issues that won't be cured in six weeks or so. I've heard more horror stories from people who've had serious breaks with mangled supporting parts.

[Mudpie]

Good Morning all!

Bill Glad to hear that you are progressing along the recovery road. And being on crutches makes it harder to get things to snack on from the kitchen, yes?

Good luck to all the Americans as the "Holiday Eating Season" officially beings there with their Thanksgiving.

We are in full Christmas mode up here. Went to the mall with my cousin and carols, Christmas ornaments, etc. are everywhere. I have been drooling over the edibles I can order from both LL Bean and Land's End. I will not get them as DH is now sincerely trying to lose weight. I avoided the Christmas food area all together in the Williams Sonama store. I won't list the goodies as that is some serious food porn.

Good week all!

Dagmar

[bargoo]

I am going out for Thansgiving dinner to friends but we are not having the traditional dinner , Crab Cioppino is going to be the main dish.

[saef]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't consider what's on the platter and the serving dishes as the problem this week.

My problem this week is my mind. This year, the anniversary of my father's death happens to fall on Thanksgiving Day itself. And also, it's the end of our fiscal year at work and there is a tremendous crush of writing assignments to finish before the month ends -- yes, just when I want to take days off from work and enjoy the holidays. Generally, what happens is there is more work than I can finish during weekdays, and so I will spend part of the long Thanksgiving weekend on my laptop while at my mother's house, catching up on work.

Oh, and there's the gift-buying and card-writing to add on top of that.

So I just see this as a test of endurance, which won't end till about the second week of December.

[bargoo]

saef, I do hope you are well paid, I mean REALLY well paid, it seems like you put in an enormous amount of time on your work, weekends, holidays , all seem to be work days for you.

[WardHog]

Good morning.

We are staying in town for the week, instead of going to my grandmother's like we usually do. I am a little sad to miss it as it is also her 96th birthday, and it's the only time I get to see her and my aunts, uncles and cousins. But, it is certain to be a more relaxing and healthy holiday.

I ordered a meal from publix so I won't be cooking, either.

[Megan1982]

Hi all,

I really feel like I've been through the wringer and am glad that big, long sampling trips are done at work for now and my play is over, even though the play comes with pride and sense of accomplishment. These particular trips for work don't come with those positive feelings, just relief that they are done. I spent the weekend doing laundry, sleeping, and trying to get my dog back to her more regular walking schedule. I also tried to catch up on some phone calls with my family and start Christmas gift lists. Has anyone else noticed that in the US not only are displays up already, it seems there are early sales that started last Friday? I'm sure there will be black Friday sales, too, but really. I'm not ready!

My only exercise the last two weeks has consisted of walking the dog, though not as far and often as our usual ~20 miles a week. I got to my yoga class last Wed for the first time in months. It felt great, and actually made me sore. That means I'm really out of shape. Forget waiting for the New years diet/workout resolutions. This is changing now! At least I actually completely maintained on the scale. I didn't have time to overeat. My weight is still exactly 154. My body really seems to "like" this weight as it's been here for most of the year and when I fluctuate a few lbs, comes back here.

BF and I are going to leave Wed AM to see his family and get back Friday PM. I find interacting with his family to be difficult sometimes bc they cause BF so much grief and frustration. I want to be mad at them for hurting him, but feel I should instead play the dutiful GF and be polite and make inane conversation (which I'm terrible at - inane conversation, not politeness). I'm always afraid "So why are you so dysfunctional?" or "hey, heard you got busted for a DUI and posession!" will pop out of my mouth. At least I usually only have to see them once per year. The trick will indeed be to not dive into the food as distraction. But no leftovers in my house either, which Fat Megan is sad about, and Thin Megan is relieved about.

Dagmar, I always receive the Harry & David's catalog, having been the recipient of some gifts from them in the past. The pictures always get me. The IMHO outrageous prices keep me from ever even imagining ordering anything for myself. Or as a gift to anyone else. My homemade jams and jellies will suffice.

Michele, glad DD's dog is coming so soon! I hope it will be helpful to your DD and relieve some of her stress and anxiety.

Bill, hang in there! This might be a really great time to do something you've been meaning to do that requires sitting, like convert your records/CDs/VHS to digital files. Hope you heal quickly.

I've missed a lot over the past few weeks. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things with more regular exercise and accountability. And since today is my office's thanksgiving lunch this would be a good time to start. I think I will balance my meal with a big salad for dinner tonight and a long wog with the dog.

[alinnell]

I'm struggling to downsize Thanksgiving. Going from 27 to 8 is actually difficult! I'm making all the same dishes, only smaller and probably less buttery because DD has lost more weight and wants everything to be healthy. I bought everything Saturday and have dinners planned for Thursday and Friday (when we'll celebrate her birthday) but that leaves me with Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with no plan. I have some steaks defrosting for tonight and I'll fix an acorn squash to go with them. Leftover soup on Tuesday, but Wednesday, when DD and her boyfriend arrive, I have no idea what I'll fix. That also means I'll need to go to the store that afternoon and doing THAT the day before Thanksgiving is NOT what I want to do! Perhaps I'll send DS to the store for a mountain of zucchini and I'll do pasta-less spaghetti. I always have the ingredients for sauce.

Christmas this year will be small. So far, I have two presents each for DD and DS. We're not exchanging between DH and myself or with his parents. We've all agreed that there is nothing we want or need (well, I do need golfballs, but the kids can get those for me!). Almost everything I've bought has been online. I need to get the traditional pajamas and some stocking stuffers (usually toiletries) and I'll be done. The less time I spend in stores the better! I really hate this time of year with everyone fighting over merchandise that is on sale.

Hoping to hear from the bank this week.....

Everyone hang in there! We'll get through this season!

[bargoo]

The older my children get and the older I get the harder it is to come up with Christmas Gifts. No more trips to ToysRUs, that was so easy. I am thinking now of Omaha Steaks all around, everybody has to eat, right ?

[alinnell]

Originally Posted by bargoo

The older my children get and the older I get the harder it is to come up with Christmas Gifts. No more trips to ToysRUs, that was so easy. I am thinking now of Omaha Steaks all around, everybody has to eat, right ?

I know! I do Harry & David for my Dad. My friend gives me an Omaha Steak gift each year. I think I'll send her wine this year.

My kids' birthdays are around Christmas and that makes it even harder. I asked DD what she wanted--a grill. So we got her a small portable grill and my in-laws are giving her the accessories (cover and utensils) to go with it. That was easy. I asked DS what he wants for his birthday. He has no idea.

[krampus]

My roommate and I are obsessed with Christmas and bought a ton of craft supplies to make Xmas cards yesterday.

Thanksgiving will be a small gathering at my BF's mom's house with enough food to feed two or three times as many people as will be there. She always makes special brownies and the like so who knows how many plates I'll be putting away?!

Sadly, BF's mom's BF was just diagnosed with lung cancer so I don't think it will be a joyous time all around. Struggling to think what I should bring as a hostess gift for them. So far all I have is a tiny packet of wildflower seeds from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

[traveling michele]

Good morning all!

We will be strong this week.maybe
Sounds like everyone has plans in place for the week.
It should be a very interesting and busy week for us!
Dh came home Saturday. I couldn't wait for him to be surprised by my painting of the bathroom and it took him hours before he finally went in there! He was surprised and pleased so I was relieved.

Dd #1 came home late last night. She hadn't been home in almost six months. The dogs were super excited to see her, and Dewey abandoned us to sleep with her. She is happy that this should be her last time flying sans her service dog.
Today, dh and I are going to Napa and spending the night. I'm looking forward to it but know I won't get any formal exercise and will eat too much.

Dd #2 comes home Wednesday night. She has been so homesick! She said she can't wait to: drive, hold Dewey, eat steak, and play her guitar!
Thursday we will have a huge feast for just the four of us. Dh and dd#1 love cooking thanksgiving foods, so I don't do much except clean. I may go to bikram yoga, but there will only be one morning class so it is bound to be packed.

Dd2 wants me to go Black Friday shopping Thursday night. Ugh. That's the last thing I want to do. Saturday is her baptism, and then we will have a party at our house after. Then everyone leaves Sunday and Monday including dh so it will be a packed week.

I wish dh would wake up so we could leave for napa!

[paperclippy]

Hey folks! We are also having a smaller than usual Thanksgiving this year, 7 people. My in-laws are hosting and my parents are in town, but BIL and SIL both decided to spend the holiday with their SO's families. MIL is pretty upset about it because their family is Jewish, so typically they have Thanksgiving together and then everyone goes to their non-Jewish SO's families for Christmas. SIL had already refused a Christmas invitation from her BF (it involved traveling to Oregon and she didn't want to go) so she felt obliged to go to Thanksgiving with them which was local. No excuse for BIL, he's been distant in general lately.

In any case it's just me, DH, MIL, FIL, my mom and dad, and DH's grandma this year. We ordered a giant turkey anyway though because I love leftovers and turkey mushroom casserole (I think I posted it in the recipes sticky) is my favorite thing ever. I'm cooking sweet potatoes and a couple desserts. Which reminds me that I need to check with MIL about cranberry sauce . . . Oh, and also I am going to attempt to cook DH's grandma's yeast rolls. She's not making them this year because of a combination of not having the right kitchen stuff in the assisted living place she's moved into and being too weak to do the kneading, so I invited her to come over to our house and supervise me to make sure I do it right.

One year at Thanksgiving we had 10 people and 10 pies. I think this year we'll have 7 people and 3 desserts (2 pies, one persimmon pudding).

[bargoo]

Love persimmon pudding.!
My church is doing something interesting, someone donated an olive grove, volunteers from the church picked the olives and they will be pressed and bottled and the Organic Olive Oil will be sold and the proceeds will got to Food Programs. I plan to buy several bottles for Christmas gifts and myself.

[ChrisMohr]

Hi friends,
Good luck to us all this week, and thanks for being my friends!
I've decided to set some behavioral goals, knowing it's OK to gain some weight this week and knowing I can and will take it off in early to mid December. I'm nervous of course but here we go...

Ideal maintenance weight for me is 180-185 pounds. After my birthday party and a recent four-day international wedding conference, I start my week at 186. Oh well. But OK.

So I will continue to isolate any overeating and eat in a careful, dietary way for breakfast and lunch. Then just join the family and enjoy dinners. This is a strategy, not for weight loss or even maintenance, but to stay reasonably conscious and not go on a week long "food bender" like I have done in years past. A moderate weight gain will be OK for this week..

Whatever we decide, I think this exercise might be helpful, to just decide in advance what we plan to do, share our intentions here, and then stay with the plan!