Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm not at work!  This is the first time in 3 years that I have had the holidays off (other than last Thanksgiving when I had to leave town in order to not have to work).  It is the trouble with working with animals...people tend to leave their pets behind on holidays.  I can't quite figure it out, personally, but that is the way it is.  If you are flying, I get that.  Or maybe your family has allergies?  Fine.  But, being the type who would rather get a pet SITTER than lock my dog up in a cage for a week, it is a struggle every year.  But that's not the point...
It's Thanksgiving!  I hope all of you that celebrate, are able to do so with your families (if you wish to do so!) :)

I'm not going to lie, my mind is on last year, when we got to go away for a bit.  This year's holiday has been good, though.  I ended up having today off, as I said. Plus, I got out at noon yesterday, and gave away my shift tomorrow...that's nearly 3 days off! 
And, yesterday was our 11th wedding anniversary.  We did movie and dinner.  We saw the Muppets.  It was so good!  #1 there were very few children in the audience (and it was a small crowd, too, which I like).  Despite the fact that it was raining cats and dogs AND it was opening day, it wasn't crowded...I hate crowded movie theaters...well, I'm not great with crowds at all.  #2 because of the older crowd, everyone was laughing out loud because they 'got' it!  They REMEMBER the Muppet Show.  I felt so nostalgic watching it, that I think I almost cried once or twice!  I know, that's weird...really weird, but it made me long for 'the good old days' when silliness was funny.  I like wholesome hilarity, and often get 'made fun of' for liking jokes about elephants breaking fences and what time one should go to the dentist.  (Again, I'm getting off track)  It was a good movie.  If you watched the Muppet Show, growing up, you may want to see this movie.  I don't like to recommend movies, since every one's tastes are different, so I just say 'I liked it'.
Then dinner at the restaurant I worked at many years ago...where I was working when Jason proposed 13 years ago (yes, we were engaged for 2 years before finally throwing our arms up and saying 'let's just go to Vegas!'  We've actually been together for 16 years altogether.) I like that I can still go there and have people know me...it's the beauty of small town living, I think.  It was the thing I missed most when we moved to Nantucket, and the first thing that hit me when we moved back here.  I, since it's Thanksgiving and all, have to say that I am very thankful for our close-knit 'family' of friends that we have gained along the way, here on Cape Cod. 
Today will be just Hubby and me.  He'll be cooking; I'll be puttering about.  We'll both be drinking beer (from our local brewery, of course) and watching football (GO LIONS!).  It's finally stopped raining, so we can get our walk to the beach, and get coffee and see our friends before they close up at noon.

Tomorrow, I decided it would be fun to pay homage to our trip last year by making tapas and sangria.  We had a great anniversary dinner at Julian Serrano's Tapas restaurant at the Aria in Vegas last year...so memorable, we have thought about it all year long.  A lot of people are surprised that we like Vegas so much, but it really is a great place to experience a lot of great food, by great chefs, all in one place.  I also have fallen in love with cocktail hour...and there are tons of little lounges out there.  It's just a great place to 'hang out'.  (yes, I know, my vocabulary is limited today...'great' is all I can come up with.)

In the evening, we've been invited to a chocolate fondue party.  One of our friends has been seeing a woman for most of this year, and apparently she has done this in the past, so this year we are invited.  They provide the chocolate and wine, and we each bring something to dip.  Fruit? not likely!  I am bringing marshmallows.  How stupid am I, that I couldn't figure out why they were nearly sold out!  I've never been a marshmallows on my sweet potatoes kind of girl, so I couldn't figure it out.  I am also making rice crispy treats, and thought 'is everyone making rice crispy treats for Thanksgiving??'  What I really wanted was the coconut marshmallows, but those I could not find. Maybe I'll try another store before we head out, tomorrow. 
I am also excited to hand off the quilled snowflakes.  I am giving them as a hostess gift.  I'm going to try to see if I can get some feedback as far as 'how much would you pay for these?'  I think they are really pretty, and they're not a quick project, but I'm new to these and need a starting point for pricing.   Of course, I'm nowhere near a position to be able to sell them this year...probably.

This post is much longer than I was expecting.  I'm going to end it with some things I'm thankful for...the little things, of course! Other than my adoring, always supportive and loving husband.
My sisters and aunt (who is more a sister than aunt) and their significant others (for making them happy).
The first sip of eggnog in my morning coffee, while listening to Bing and friends singing Christmas classics, and 'window shopping' online wearing my flannel reindeer jammies.
Old friends, even if I only see them once a year, or may never see again.  New friends...even though some of them I will probably never 'see' at all.  Future friends...I know they're out there!
My best little furry friend, Moxie...and the time I got to spend with my pal Hanzo.
Of course the list goes on, but for me, it's always been the little things that count in life.  The big things are easier to work out, when you have all the little things in place.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!