CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

What I am NOT doing

Jack Bauer is due home any day now. And of course, there is the big holiday the day after tomorrow. In years past, and still humming below the surface, Thanksgiving would be enough by itself to have sent me into a stress-filled fit, and the thought of a big homecoming would be enough by itself to have sent me into an anxiety-induced paralysis of inaction.

So what am I NOT doing to avoid losing my mind?

First, I am getting take out for Thanksgiving. Maggiano's is doing a Thanksgiving Day Menu. I just placed our order. Oh, let's see that took 5 minutes. The picking up of the meal will take a little while longer, about 45 minutes total round trip. But I am willing to do the hard work of driving on Thanksgiving to make it happen. So Thanksgiving dinner is taken care of. One less thing to worry about. Oh, you want to know what we are having?

  • Roasted butternut squash and prosciutto
  • Goat cheese and olives
  • Fresh tomatoes & basil
  • Chopped salad
  • Spinach salad
  • Traditional roast turkey with giblet gravy, cranberry relish & focaccia sausage stuffing
  • Country-style baked ham
  • Mashed sweet potatoes
  • Garlic mashed potatoes
  • Baked ziti & sausage
  • Mushroom ravioli
  • Pumpkin praline cheesecake, and
  • A warm apple crostada.
That might be enough.

Second thing I am not doing to lose my mind, I am not worrying about making everything perfect. OK, besides the fact that I will never be able to reach perfection. There are going to be piles of papers left to be filed. The backyard is going to remain untouched and its, um, natural state. The front yard is going to have leaves that need to blown into the street. There are going to be things that simply need to be put away that will be remain out.

And as surely as the sun will rise, there will be some piece of laundry that will need to be folded, hung up, or put away. I wouldn't want Jack to feel like he was in someone else's home. :D