Seriously

Wouldn't life just be better if this was me?:See how the bear is smiling? That is because it's cold and yucky outside and the bear is warm and fat and sleeping through it all. Please let me come back as a bear in my next life...

That said, I want to stay awake through the weekend. In America my relatives will be celebrating a day of thanks on Thursday. I SO wish I could be at my uncle M and aunt L's house for dinner!!! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday ever. So not because of the fake story about pilgrims and natives (that soooo didn't happen the way they would like us to believe!)....but because I just LOVE the idea of a whole day to give thanks. A day to get together with family and friends, cook together, laugh together, talk, share in life...just BE together! And, all you have to do is eat the bestest foods ever (mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, vegetable casseroles...oh my!) and you don't have to worry about the pressure of presents. It's the most immaterial holiday there is in my opinion, which makes it the best. I even like Thanksgiving better than my birthday (except that on my birthday Joel takes me to Venice, and for Thanksgiving we're staying home...Venice would be better!).

Anyway... since we all have to work on Thursday we will celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday. I will start cooking Friday night (we'll see how a pumpkin pie turns out with Latvian pumpkin), and great friends DS and KB will come over early afternoon Saturday to preside over the bird funeral, while I prepare most of the rest of the feast. Joel's family will come for dinner as well bringing even more goodies (very important ones at that...the sweet potatoes!). Dinner will hopefully take hours, the kids will be crazy with boredom trying to drag adults away from the table (and let's be honest, they'll succeed in pulling Joel away for sure), and hopefully all will go home pants unbuttoned. :) Most who know me know that I do not endorse binges these days, but for Thanksgiving I make an exception. Bring it on.

I hope that those of you celebrating on Thursday have a wonderful day full of peace, love and community. To those of you who don't celebrate this day, I invite you to give thanks anyway for all the wonderful people and experiences you have in your life. To those of you coming over on Saturday...bring your appetites!