1) A hippopotamus 2) my two front teeth 3) you

...also, a yacht. Really, that's not a lot.

CC by Visit Cape May (Flickr)

I think Santa must be aware of this year's struggles in the battle between Naughty and Nice (just at this moment, I fear I have overdue fines on a handful of library books I've held onto for too long), but he's a pretty easy-going guy. And the season is treating me well so far. I mean, despite lacking space to put a Christmas tree in our apartment tonight, I was given the opportunity to decorate not one, but FIVE trees elsewhere -- all in 24 hours. Sweet.

Food This Week 22

Is everyone surviving their Thanksgiving leftovers? We had more than I'd planned for, which is really a lovely worry. Extra food (a HUGE banana squash, soup, garlic, and packet of ham from my mom, donuts from a coworker, cupcakes we had an expiring voucher for at a nearby bakery) made appearances several times. My wife brought home a whole bunch of extras from her work's catered dinner (she had to work a midnight shift on Thanksgiving), so we've had turkey cottage pie, turkey soup, and plates of plain leftovers for a while. She made a mole de pavo that's on the menu for tomorrow after we run some errands. Everything's been repurposed and eaten or frozen by now, but it will reappear! (Spaced out a bit, though.) I don't think we need anything from the grocery store this week, either. We'll see how boxed mac & cheese tastes with almond milk, which is all I have in the house...

Goals Check-in: November

Here's my end-of-the-month wrap-up regarding my 2013 goals:

Food This Week 21

Last week my coworkers and I left the office -- they're doing some major construction and we'll all be relocated until the new year. Some people will be working in a temporary office space in the city, but my team gets to work from home instead. So I am looking forward to hot lunches! I hope my hard-working wife will be able to come home to a cooked meal on frequent occasions. And, yes, I will be happy to work in my pajamas.

Happy Turkey Day!

Posting from my parents' place. I was reminded of the holiday this morning, more than once. In some ways, today is just a Thursday I don't have to work. (I hope -- I'm on call in case something catches on fire at work.) But it was nice to wake up and take a walk with my dad and the dog, and then come back to make a big breakfast for the 4 of us (my sister will appear tomorrow, boyfriend in tow).

We'll have an early evening turkey dinner tonight at a local family friend's. Tomorrow we'll be at my aunt's, with about twice the number of people, for Friday Thanksgiving. I made "real" cranberry sauce for that. Hmmph. Oh, and last weekend I made another turkey. Used a pesto rub and roasted it breast-side down, and it was crispy and good. We had a couple meals of white meat, cranberry sauce (from a can! my favorite), and roasted sweet potato fries. Already broke down the bones for stock, and the leftover meat will become turkey burritos, turkey pasta, and turkey soup.

Hope that you're able to take a rest today (amid work, family, and kitchen duties) and appreciate all of your blessings. See you next week!