My *Asterisk* Life

Happy Thanksgiving! This month alone, I’ve had a lot to be thankful for. November first was Matt’s Dziadek (that’s Grandpa in Polish) birthday. About 30 of us all surprised Dziadek for his 90th birthday! 90 years old, and he has all his wits about him. I must say, if Matt’s as handsome as his Dziadek when he’s 90, I will be one lucky lady. A week later was my youngest relatives birthday. My niece Myla celebrated her fourth birthday, Wizard of Oz style. It was also Matt’s little sister’s 21st birthday this month. I started dating Matt when Rachael was 8, and now she’s 21. I feel so old! We took her and her boyfriend down to AC and had a blast.

I got down with my bad self and my sister at a Freestyle concert in Atlantic City. If you enjoy Freestyle, I hope you were dancing the night away with me and I just didn’t know. If don’t know what Freestyle is, see below.

It’s ridiculously danceable 80s/90s music that is featured on 103.5 KTU.  It’s silly and a lot of it sounds the same, but it’s fun and you can’t help but dance. You’re welcome.

We also took the kids pumpkin, apple and brussels sprout picking. Ok, so we went pumpkin and apple picking, and when I saw they had brussels sprouts I made the kids pick me some.  I love spending time with the my nieces and nephew, and we found out recently that Matt’s sister Mindy is expecting a baby next year. Another little one to play with! I’m so excited for Mindy and her husband Matt. We built a fire pit in our yard hand have been enjoying it, and we also enjoyed the fire pit at a Friendsgiving last week with some of my friends from my undergraduate college, Stockton. I loved seeing everyone, and the food was delicious. I miss my Stockton Literature group, and it was wonderful seeing everyone.

Then there’s Thanksgiving itself! For pretty much everyone, Thanksgiving is the holiday where most people would say they eat the most, but I would venture to say my Thanksgivings go above and beyond most Thanksgiving dinners. I avoid the turkey and am more of a side dish girl, but that doesn’t do much to lighten my plate.  We start at Matt’s parent’s house a little before lunch, then we head over to Matt’s Aunt Terry’s for our second Thanksgiving meal. We don’t get to see Matt’s Grandpa, aunt, or cousins often, so Thanksgiving is always a nice reunion for us all. After our second Thanksgiving dinner for the day, we head over to my Aunt Roe’s house.

Three dinners is a lot for anyone, but our dinner at Roe’s house may as well be 4 dinners in itself. As in most Italian households, our holiday dinners are all day feasts. We start with antipasto, where I pick out as much cheese and pickled mushrooms as I can without being overtly rude. Then we have escarole soup, followed by a pasta dish. Not a light one either. We generally have stuffed shells. We finally take a lighter break with some fruit and nuts while the guys watch football and the girls plan their black Friday trips. Finally we have the turkey and a thousand sides. We finish the night with way too many desserts, usually around 10ish.

My sisters, friends, and I then venture out for Black Friday sales. Yes, we are those crazy people. Really though, it isn’t as bad as what people think. I’ve never been trampled or pushed or even had anyone be rude to me. Most people I encounter are already in the holiday spirit. I usually get 90% of y Christmas shopping on Black Friday, and I use the rest of the season to enjoy holiday movies, craft, wrap, and decorate.  I love buying gifts for people, and it’s always a lot of fun staying up late and shopping our hearts out until breakfast.

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, and I hope we can all remember that there is so much to be grateful for. If you can’t think of anything to be grateful for, let me know and I’ll help put things into perspective. Gobble til you wobble this weekend 🙂