Thanksgiving is coming (I can already feel the after-dinner yawn coming on)

I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. This will be my second time hosting; last year I hosted my mother and father-in-law, my husband's grandmother and brother. This year will be my parents, sister, and aunt, as well as the four of us.

Besides obviously being in charge of the bird, I will be making gravy, cranberry pineapple sauce, stuffing, green beans, rolls, my mom's yummy salad - a jell-o/tapioca/fruit/cool-whip concoction(anyone who has ever been to anything my mom has hosted knows what I am talking about), apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, and a nibbling tray in case I am late with dinner. (Last year I was only five minutes late, but you never know.)

Mom is making her legendary sweet potato casserole that is the stuff legends are made of. :) And I talked her into making the mashed potatoes too, as one type of potato is just not enough. I love carbs, but detest peeling potatoes, so thanks, Mom. She is also bringing a chocolate lush for my sister's birthday which is Friday, so we will sing to her on Thursday while we are all together. My aunt is bringing a pumpkin pie, because you can't have Thanksgiving without a pumpkin pie.

I finished my food shopping today for the big day. I think. I will probably be back at some store this week. I thought I could stay somewhere close to my usual weekly grocery budget. I didn't. And that is okay. Since I have company over for dinner about 3 times a year, I can splurge on these celebratory occasions. And celebrating the estimated 36, 476 things we have to be thankful for is a pretty good reason to celebrate, don't you think?

A week of thanks is better than just a day, so Happy Thanksgiving Week everybody!

And to get us in the thanking spirit, leave a comment with an "I am thankful for..."

(come on lurkers, you can do it!)

I am thankful for all of you who take the time to read here. I hope you have a great time with family and friends, hearts full of love and gratitude, and bellies full of food.