It's the Day Before Thanksgiving!

Good morning, everyone.

I'm sitting in the office writing this. I have a cup of coffee to wash my Honey Nut Cheerios down. Brokaw is eating a chew right beside me. I have a pile of coupons I clipped last night right beside my computer.

It's nice and quiet in here. And it's 7:30, and I just got up. Bliss.

M is still sleeping in the bed. He just yelled for me, I went in there to see what he wanted/needed, "I'm sorry I keep falling asleep on you." :)

I kissed him gently on his dry, sleepy lips and tried to explain there's a huge gap between me being up, in the other room, lollygagging and me being up at 4am on a weekday, walking dogs, picking up poop, and doing chores.

He happily drifted back off to sleep. And I happily marched back to my perch here.

Last night was a good night.

I rode home with a co-worker. I gave her bad advice on where to turn, and we ended up passing one of my favorite spots in Washington, DC.

The World War II Memorial. You actually can't see the exact spot in this picture, but it's the place where Michael Ritter asked me to marry him October 17, 2008. I was telling Tamatha the story and she said, "I thought that only happened in the movies, and old movies at that!" Nope. I am one blessed girl, I tell you!

I cooked a pork tenderloin for dinner last night. It took more than an hour, which, on any ordinary weeknight would be entirely too long. But it gave me time last night to tidy up, clip coupons, and look at pictures of my college roommate's fresh-out-of-the-oven baby boy on Facebook. I am in awe. So proud of Amber. It does seem crazy when a person you grew up with has a baby. But, I'm getting really used to it! Caleb is a cute, cute baby. He was born with chubby cheeks already installed! I also listened to the new Taylor Swift album while M watched some Battlestar Gallactica (what in the world?) online.

I have a strict zero-tolerance policy on all things science fiction and/or involving space and/or aliens or anything unrealistic. So, he's smart about when he watches that stuff :)

Dinner was random, but ended up being quite enjoyable! I didn't get any pictures of the final product, sorry. We had honey mustard marinated pork tenderloin, a boxed mix of red beans and rice (which I added fresh red onion and red pepper to), canned mixed vegetables (I hate canned mixed veggies, thank God that was the last of what we had, I will not be buying any more!) and garlic bread.

I highly recommend adding fresh produce to any and all boxes/mixes of rice or pasta or sauce or whatever. Totally gives it that homemade taste.

On my agenda today:

Making braided cheese bread, strawberry scones and pumpkin doughnut muffins. Thanks so much for your input.

Oh, and I might also resume lobbying to use this picture in our Christmas card.. M doesn't like his hair here. So, I have some convincing to do. If you have a sec, leave a comment encouraging him :) Otherwise, I may be forced to be photographed either Thursday (after driving 5 hours, eeew) or Friday (the day after eating a feast at Thanksgiving? Um. No. Thank.You, right?)

I gotta go now. M's home healthcare provider lady is here and I tried to just type away in the office while I hear her working in the other room.... but I just can't do it. It still weirds me out. So, I'm outta here. Peace out. Safe travels and happy family time to all of you!