Thankfulness is what I long for.

Seeing that I’m feeling a bit uninspired this morning regarding what to write, I thought I’d find a nice little Thanksgiving meme and force you to read it.

(OK, so I can’t force any of you to do anything you don’t want to do, but it’s what I’m posting today. Deal with it)

1. Which do you like better: hosting Thanksgiving at your home, or going elsewhere? So for all of my adult life, I’ve lived within driving distance of my parents’ house and am expected to go there, seeing that I’m not married and don’t have another side of the family to split my time between. I do a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with friends at my house and love hosting it. I like it better when people come to my parents’ house for the holiday, too, because generally, if we went to my mom’s side of the family that meant driving for 45 minutes and trying not to be late so no one would be mad. Hosting seems lower stress, as weird as that sounds.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Organic? Free-range? For my pre-Thanksgiving, I bought an 8 lb frozen turkey breast and cooked it in chicken broth, a butter rosemary rub, salt and pepper. Simple and yummy. My mom also uses frozen turkey. My aunt always smoked the turkey in her smoker.

3. Do you make stuffing or dressing? What kind? Further proving to some of you that I am “unAmerican,” I don’t eat either. I know; I know. It’s like the official side dish of Thanksgiving! But I don’t like it. Mushy bread skeeves me out for some reason. So I don’t eat it and I don’t make it. But I hear my friend Rachel makes the best dressing EVER! This is why she will always be invited to my Thanksgiving meals.

4. Sweet potato pie or pumpkin pie? Um, pumpkin. I’ve never had Sweet potato pie. But I also don’t make pumpkin pie. Buy the frozen one! They’re just as good! 🙂

5. Are leftovers a blessing or a curse? A little of both. It’s nice to have stuff and know you don’t have to cook. But when you’re one person and there’s a lot of leftovers. . . not cool. You get tired of them after 2 meals, if you make it that long.

6. What side dishes are a must-have in your family? Hmm. . . at my mom’s house, it’s baked corn, her green beans, dressing, homemade bread or rolls, salad, mashed potatoes and sometimes hashbrown casserole. We like potatoes. At my aunt’s house, it’s pasta house salad, green beans, fruit salad, dressing, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. And usually deviled eggs.

7. What do you wish you had that might make Thanksgiving easier? Two ovens.

8. If/when you go to someone else’s house for the holiday, do you usually bring a dish? If so, what is it? I feel weird showing up empty handed for meals! If I’m making it, I usually do some sort of garden salad or a dessert. I’m the official salad maker in my family and we like salad.

9. What do you wish one of your guests would bring to your house? Good attitudes. I also hope Jason and Amber bring Rock Band. It’s a highlight for me.

10. What do you wish one of your guests would NOT bring to your house? Drama, complaints, stupidity.

11. Do you stick with a particular menu from year to year, or do you mix it up? Mix it up! Have the perennial favorites, but always, always, always try something new!

12. Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday in your home? Being who we are, it’s hard for my family to give thanksgiving without expressing our thanks to God. One of my favorite moments when we have Thanksgiving with the Crows is when my uncle or my dad prays, thanking God first and foremost for giving us His Son and all the blessings He’s bestowed this year and throughout our lives.

13. Share one Thanksgiving tradition. My family doesn’t do the whole go around the table and tell what you’re thankful for. Rock Band has become a tradition of sorts for my brother and me. At my aunt’s, the tradition is watching football.

14. Share one Thanksgiving memory. Just one? Hmm. There was the time that as we were taking the last bit of bread out of the oven at my mom’s house the heating element caught on fire and burnt in two. It got my mom out of cooking for a good couple of days until my dad bought a new heating element and replaced it (he’s handy like that). Then there’s the year my brother and I were about the only people our age at a Crow Thanksgiving at my parents’ house. So we took our food downstairs and watched a Rambo marathon. I don’t even really like Rambo, but we had such a good time that year and I can’t even remember why!

15. Name five things you’re thankful for. Family, friends (including all of you), having a job that more than provides for my needs, Cherry Coke Zero, my dog (even if she is an extreme weirdo).

Enjoy! 🙂