Thanksgiving Whirlwind

Wednesday

*Joycie (Carly's mom) makes Chicken and Pink Meat for family dinner night with Big Blue, Nicole and Flauta (just in from Milwaukee)

*Cousin Alison arrives from NYC

*Angie and I prepare our "hot dishes" to get ahead of the Thanksgiving madness (CJH's broccoli casserole and 2 tons of mashed potatoes)

*Everyone goes to bed

*Alison and I hit Rira for a nightcap and stay around to make sure they close on time

Thursday

*7am wake-up for the Clarendon Turkey Trot

*8am Turkey Trot with a fun cast of characters including Marty (Carly's Dad), Angie, Cashdollar, Kirsten, Lee (his first race ever and easily beats most of us), and Alison. Matt, Big Al (his Dad), Flauta, and Flauta's mom lead the walkers with Carly and Joycie cheering from the sidelines
*Joycie has the turkey stuffed and in the oven by the time we are back from the race and sipping bellinis*Alison's friend Max rolls in from Hotlanta and brings the hot weather

*Meal preparations ensue for 14

*Aunt Janet barely makes it in time from Pittsburgh for the meal (thanks to my incorrect directions). Luckily she remembered to bring bread and CHIPPED HAM!

*Dinner is a success. A special shout out to the Camps for bringing dessert (Tina made 3 pies and Matt made peanut butter cookies topped with Reese cups)

*The favorite "t-giving hot dish" award goes to Tara's macaroni and cheese

*The group fights post turkey tryptophan by playing the most hilarious game of Guestures (charades) ever

Friday

*Shopping, of course

*Dinner at Lauirol Plaza

*Nightcaps in Arlington

Saturday

*Vineyard tour in Middleburg at Chrysalis

*Pizza and movie night (Old Blood for New Country Men)

Sunday

*Sunday service with the Camps at the National Cathedral

*Goodbyes to Camps and Leutholds

Cashdollar

Happy Birthday Kelly!

This picture from Sly's wedding always cracks me up. I have no idea who these boys are?!

Things I love about Kelly Cash:

• *She bakes amazing cookies
• *She's always on time
• *Her blogging humor
• *She's got the best last name ever...maiden name (sorry Mike)
• *She rallies for any event, party or favor (she is a great yard saler)
• *Her inspirational marathon training motivation! She may be the first person I know to consider running two races in one day
• *Oh and there's her friendship that dates back to Sprint programming and softball days
  

Some Updates

Phew, I really dropped off the blog world (or is it blogshere) for a while. There are so many updates, I don't know where to begin.

Here are some basics:

*Happy Birthday today to Eileen. She is so sweet and humble about celebrating her birthday that she even sent ME a thank you card for the birthday card I sent her! We have a night out on the town planned to celebrate (conveniently located next door). She's been here several months and never had the full RiRa experience.

*Matt and I had a "happy little weekend". At his suggestion, we actually did go to DSW, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the Limited this weekend. We tried to break things up by stopping into a sports bar for lunch to get a hearty dose of football before continuing the shopping experience.

*A big congratulations to Tratox (Dtox and Tracey) on their engagement. I believe they've set the date and secured a facility in record time. Also please refer to Kelly's blog entry. There is no topping that one. I am really looking forward to this celebration. I think the big question is, will there be an ice block of some sort?

*Thanks to Ang who made a wonderful family dinner on Halloween night consisting of traditional Minnesota "hot dishes" and casseroles. I love it when she busts out the crock pot.

*Matt and I had a great time in Indiana a few weekends ago where we dropped in on his parents and celebrated Purdue's Homecoming with his college buds. However, when asked how the game was, I'm embarrassed to admit that we didn't actually see the game. I'm not even sure who won, but I finally got to participate in breakfast club. I've been hearing about this tradition ever since I met Matt. For every home game, the kids at Purdue dress up in crazy outfits and hit the bars at 7am. Our visit coincided with Halloween weekend, so the scene was especially fun. The highlight of the experience was when I was mistaken for an actual college student while in line for the ladies bathroom. I was tickled to think that I blended so well, even though we were all wearing t-shirts commemorating Matt's friend's 30th birthday. The low point of the experience was getting up at 5am to drive to Purdue after our flight was delayed.

*Congratulations to Kelly Cash Tracy and Big Blue roomie, Eileen for rocking the Marine Corps Marathon! And I'm happy to see that Kelly is keeping up her blog post race.