Happy Thanksgiving 2013

It's official, Thanksgiving 2013 topped Thanksgiving 2012 by a long shot. Being separated and eating sub-par food last year, Thanksgiving just came up short on the holiday spirit. This year we went all out. A small Thanksgiving feast for two. :) And I'm happy to report that for my first Thanksgiving meal there were no disasters. Ham in the oven, turkey in the crockpot, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and pecan pie were all a success. We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving lunch together, lounged on the couch while the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on TV in the background, and rounded out the night with a few friends coming over. It turned out to be a really nice, relaxing day. We have so much to be thankful for.

I am also excited to report that we have adopted the "Cook Family" tradition of post-Thanksgiving festivities. Black Friday morning we bypassed the crazies at the PX and headed off for breakfast at a local backeri (bakery) and a little Christmas tree shopping. We were not impressed by the trees we saw at the first place we stopped at and I was beginning to get worried that I would have to give in and buy a fake Christmas tree for the first time EVER in my life. Oh, the horror! ;) Luckily, on our drive back we passed by a somewhat hidden Christmas tree lot on the side of the road. Here we found our plump little tree that fit almost perfectly in the car. Only about a foot hung out of the window.  

Now that Thanksgiving has passed it's now "legal" to bust out some Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, & Tony Bennett holiday tunes and celebrate all things Christmas! The next few weekends are sure to be filled with tree decorating, present wrapping, and visiting Germany's many Christmas markets. Dare I even say, bring on the snow? A tiny part of me may want to experience a White Christmas... just once. 

Is it weird that...

the most normal part of my Thanksgiving was watching Clemson lose to SC?

This was an unusual Thanksgiving. I'm not complaining in the least bit. I was surrounded by good people here in Germany and I'm blessed to have great relationships with family & friends in the States. So really there was love all around. It was just different this year. Not having RC around was the worst part and knowing he's stuck in "the sandbox" and can't really embrace/experience the holidays hurts my heart. Fortunately they had a fairly traditional Thanksgiving meal and were able to have some free time to have a ping-pong tournament.

So with a quick recap let's compare the difference between Thanksgiving in the States vs Germany...

TYPICAL THANKSGIVING:
THANKSGIVING DAY:
Start the day with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, spend time with family, meet up with extended family, football in the background all day long, enjoy a deep fried turkey and all the southern fixin's ;). Then nap after eating a ridiculous amount of pumpkin & pecan pie.

BLACK FRIDAY:
Breakfast at Cracker Barrel, hunt for the PERFECT Christmas tree, decorate said Christmas tree, play Christmas music since its AFTER Thanksgiving and the appropriate time to do so.

PALMETTO BOWL:
Surround yourself with family & friends .... even if they're Carolina fans, experience every range of emotion (and for the last 4 years at least) pout because your team lost, practice extreme self-control and do not engage in the idiotic comments on Facebook.

Black Friday-- Christmas tree shopping circa 2011

THANKSGIVING IN GERMANY SANS HUSBAND:
THANKSGIVING DAY:
Drive to a friend's house 40 min away, watch old hockey games??? (yah, I know), eat, try gluhwein (forget spiked eggnog! I'll take gluhwein as my holiday drink), wait the appropriate time to get behind the wheel, drive to another friend's house 30 min away, notice that there are babies and little ones EVERYWHERE, have your first taste of pumpkin pie, finally some football in the background, talk to your husband for maybe 10 min on the phone, know how blessed you are to have him in your life. Then round of the day with a quick Skype session with the family.

BLACK FRIDAY:
Sleep in, realize that the PX has nothing remotely worth getting up for, come to terms with the fact that you will not have a Christmas tree this year, nor will you decorate for Christmas (highlight: because YOU'RE GOING HOME), jealousy sets in... your family is eating hashbrowns & pancakes at Cracker Barrel- you had granola cereal for breakfast. Watch Fringe for the majority of your day :)

PALMETTO BOWL:
Stay up until kick off at 1 am, Skype with brother & SIL during the entire game (BEST part), feel less crazy when yelling at the tv because you're watching "with" someone, experience every range of emotion, pout because your team lost AGAIN, practice extreme self-control and do not engage in the idiotic comments on Facebook. Go to bed because it's 5 o'clock in the morning.

Thanksgiving Weekend Cont'd

I'd like to introduce you to one of my Charleston favorites... TACO BOY!

Saturday night my parents treated us to Taco Boy.

It was a perfect night for numerous reasons.

1) I was with my entire family and hubby in the same city.

2) I got a nice cold Corona Light.

3) The Charleston weather was perfect.

4) The outdoor seating allowed us to smell the salty air.

5) I was bold and tried their "Mexican Street Corn". Maybe, the second best decision of my life after marrying RC! ;) It's a deliciously fried corn cob spiced with cayenne pepper and rolled in feta cheese. To. Die. For!

Seriously, kids. If you're in Charleston please take the time to go to Taco Boy. You won't regret it! They have two locations. One downtown... the perfect end to a day of shopping. And one on Folly Beach... the perfect end to a day on the beach.

Now that I've made you all hungry, I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Day

This year, for the first time, our families had a joint Thanksgiving dinner.

Since this is the last time for a while that RC and I will be in South Carolina for the holidays, our families wanted to have one big Thanksgiving celebration instead of making us split up the day. And we were so thankful! It was so nice to have everyone together. We're blessed that our families get along so well!

The Day After Thanksgiving

My family has always had a special tradition. It's almost bigger than Thanksgiving! The day after Thanksgiving we always go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then head out to pick/cut down our Christmas tree! And from the picture below you can tell there are a lot of us! This was the first year RC was able to participated with us! :)