Thanks for the giving

This year Thanksgiving was longer than usual. For the first time in my life I hosted. I have always been a guest, except for my first Thanksgiving as a married woman when TC and I tried to have our own celebration, but in the end found the cost of a turkey prohibitive and decided to forego in favor of chicken breast, which ended up shrinking in the oven. Except for that time, I have never hosted my own Thanksgiving feast. This year, we invited TC's sisters and their families, and MIL.

I found recipes for the foods I wanted to make, made up a shopping list, created a cooking schedule that started on Tuesday, and then stressed like crazy. I kept having bad dreams that unexpected guests came (like random members of my family and distant cousins and the like), and came too early, and that I had forgotten to do essential things like, um, put the turkey in the oven. I start to feel the panic coming on when I just think about the panic I felt. Goodness.

At any rate, all went well. No uninvited third cousins twice removed came over, and no turkeys were left uncooked. I came out of it all with a cut on my thumb (from shattering glass all over the kitchen and living room and then hurriedly cleaning it up and finding a tiny shard of glass embedded in my finger), and minor burns on the palm of my hand (from taking the turkey out of the oven to baste with only a small hot pad).

To sum up the holiday, here are some photos taken by SIL 2.

TC and SIL3 making mashed potatoes and squash.

Get your butt in the kitchen. Ha ha. Ha. (Mine is on the right, in case you wanted to see it.)'

SIL1 tossing a salad. Please, please ignore my double chin in the background. And the horrible hair-do. In fact, focus all your energies on the beauty tossing the salad. 

Me, carving the turkey. I feel like I've set the standard high for myself on this blog, and here I am, letting all of you, my dear readers, down with my lameness in appearance. I have an excuse: the cooking of it all, and taking breaks in between basting to play PS3 with the Huz took precedence over fixing my hair and putting on clothing that was actually sort of flattering. So there you go. But at least in this photo you can't see my double chin, so that's good, right?

One of the little ones enjoying rolls.

The little ones with their Tio Van, playing Lego Indiana Jones.

The littlest little one with SIL2.

The spread: rolls, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and squash, cranberry sauce, and Ferrero Rocher. 

And don't forget the dulce de leche apple pie (on the top of the microwave), Coca Cola and Sprite.