It’s the Saturday before Thanksgiving! This year, the schools gave the kids the entire week off! So, we’re covered in kids (well, the three), and we couldn’t be happier to have them at home. My daughter has all the things purchased for the meal other than the fresh produce she’ll pick up this week. We all love her Thanksgiving feast.
The turkey is always the centerpiece, even though turkey isn’t our favorite meat. Is that you, too? We tend to look for a smaller turkey, around twelve pounds, because we really, really don’t like endless leftovers. We also have a small ham, and that’s a preference for me and the 15-year-old. We freeze whatever’s left over for soups or other meal ideas later. Not the turkey though. It’s a once-a-year thing for us because we’re just not that into turkey except for Thanksgiving Day.
How will we fill the days until then? Good meals, for one. Last night, the 20-year-old took over the kitchen and made handmade corn tortillas, which we stuffed with shredded, smoked pork (my SIL manned the smoker!), cilantro and onions, and her special, homemade hot sauce (so much better than store-bought). Sooooo delicious. We’ll have some leftovers today, and then who knows?
My dd is going to man a table for the art center for the downtown Holiday Open House on Sunday. There’s Black Friday sales she and the girls are going to do on Friday. I’m sure we’ll watch a holiday movie or two. The 11-year-old is dying to see Moana-2 in the theaters, so that might happen, too. I’ve been dying to see Wicked, but I don’t want to face the crowds just yet. Masking up is a pain—and how would I enjoy my popcorn? I might wait until it streams, which is a shame because it looks like a delicious spectacle.
Anyway, those are our plans. Maybe I can talk the fam into hitting the flea market this week. That’s low-key and few people—and one of my favorite things to do.
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you love the bigger turkey and all those leftovers. What do you do with them? And do you have big plans for the week?
I wasn’t sure what I’d talk about today until I looked at the screen that pops up when I open my computer. There at the top, I saw an ad for the trailer for Hot Frosty. I’m sharing that trailer here—you’re welcome! (For those of you who get my blogs via email, you have to go to the website to view! It’s worth it!)
Yes, it’s not even past Thanksgiving yet, but we’re already watching Christmas movies in this house. I quickly sent off a message to my dd that Hot Frosty was on our list for this weekend! (Don’t you just love that title? It’s silly, cheesy, and totally to the point—so, it’s unforgettable!)
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what you have on your list to watch this season and whether Hot Frosty appeals to you as much as it does to me!
So, I released a book yesterday that featured a shifter. She’s not an animal I’ve seen used a lot, but she got me thinking about my favorite kinds of shifters. Who doesn’t love werewolves? I’ve written those. I’ve also written panthers (Bad Moon Rising). Do you remember the kid’s movie, Sky High? One of the characters shapeshifted into a guinea pig, which earned her a lot of teasing from the other kids with superpowers until they needed a small animal to perform a task. So, she’s on my list of favorite shifters, too.
My question for you today is: What kind of shifters do you love or would love to see in a book or movie? Answer for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
I unplugged completely yesterday. I had to make a trip in the morning to the cancer center an hour away for a shot to boost my white cell count. I still felt sick as a dog, so the winding roads to get to Hot Springs just about killed me. When I got home, I went straight to bed and pretty much stayed there all day. I didn’t turn on my computer even once.
I’m still not feeling great, but I’ll try to get a few high priority tasks out of the way before I take a pain pill and sleep away the day. The pain is from the chemo, not the cancer. My feet are cramped with charley horses constantly. My legs have painful spasms. I have a headache, a slight fever… I could go on and on. And I think I just did. 🙂
My daughter decorated for Christmas early the last couple of days, so I did sit for a little while watching as she hustled around, setting up all her treasures. We have numerous trees, nutcrackers, gnomes, townscapes, etc. We like our Christmas decorations and try to stretch the season as much as we can. My dd and oldest granddaughter then watched a Hallmark Christmas movie. I tried to stick it with them but ended up heading back to bed a third of the way in. Hopefully, I’ll start feeling better soon. My next treatment is the Monday of Thanksgiving week. I’ll be completely miserable for the holiday.
Anyway, enough of the health (unhealth?) update. We have some Saturday fun to begin!
Saturday Puzzle-Contest — Thanksgiving Prep!
Now that the Christmas decorations are up, my daughter is turning her attention to the Thanksgiving feast. She has a very detailed plan, which includes her shopping list, the times she has to put certain foods on to cook, recipes for the dishes, etc. She even has a shelf in the pantry that she’s cleared to hold her ingredients. Her Uber-plan works. For the past three Thanksgivings, her meal has been superb.
For you U.S.-residents, do you go all-out for Thanksgiving? For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about your Thanksgiving preparations. And if you’re not in the U.S., do you have a similar feast?
I’m posting the puzzle-contest early because tomorrow’s a special day for our family.
It’s the first day of November! Can you believe it’s already here? I can’t. This year flew by. I can’t say I’m sorry 2024 is drawing to a close. I’m ready for what’s next. I also look forward to the holiday season. I have some of my Christmas list covered already, but I have to pull out everything I have stuffed in closets to see what’s left to acquire. My daughter has a shelf in the pantry already filling up with things for the Thanksgiving meal. We decorate for Christmas early because my dd loves-loves-loves decorating and likes to see it for longer than a month, so she’s been gathering new things to add—another tree, good Lord! I love to watch her and the girls with boxes filling the living room as they hang ornaments and set up little houses with lights. It’s nuts how much “stuff” we have.
So, I’m happy it’s November. There’s so much to look forward to—Thanksgiving, the start of Advent, Krampus Day, St. Nicklaus Day (we love setting out our shoes!), Christmas, New Years! Our family loves any excuse for a celebration. This season is our favorite!
How about you? Solve the puzzle, then share what you’re looking forward to during this holiday season for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!Â
A Reminder!
Looking for a sexy read, featuring a lonely, taciturn lord of the manor?Â
I was lazy yesterday and didn’t post my Saturday puzzle. So, today’s post includes the puzzle-contest at the end of this message! Be sure to scroll down if you want to play!
Report Card
Last week…
I worked on edits for one author.
I published the Delta Heat books in online stores other than Amazon (went wide!).
I slept—a lot, again. I’m still on the mend from the latest chemo round. (I have a scan coming in early November to see whether my cancer is diminishing.)
This next week…
I’ll be working on edits for possibly three authors this week and will finish it by the weekend. I’ll be busy, busy, busy!
I’ll try working/editing the pages I’ve already written for Ignition and, hopefully, finishing a new chapter.
I’ll be working on revisions of The Demon Lord’s Cloak, which releases November 12th. Have you pre-ordered your copy?Â
I’ll be deciding whether I’ll participate in NaNoWriMo this year. It’s a “write 50,000 words in November” challenge. It is probably/definitely more than I can commit to, but I so want to get back to writing…
Open Contests
Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs!
I am beyond excited for this series to begin! I just finished watching the trailer and thought I’d share it with you!
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then let me know if this show excites your interest! Or let me know what new upcoming series you’re dying to see!