FRIDAY OPEN THREAD: What Are You Thankful For?

feature image via shutterstock.com

Y’all! Howdy! I am so glad it’s Friday. The only concrete plan I have for this weekend is to eat pizza tonight with my roommates, and to hang out in this open thread with YOU, which is the only plan that really matters. In the meantime, I’m getting excited for next weekend, also known as

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND!!!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My family gets along remarkably well, and all the better when there are four kinds of pie to think about. Here’s us at Thanksgiving 2012, the year I ate at least half the pan of green bean casserole by myself:

I’m extra super thankful for these people <3

That was also the Thanksgiving when I walked in on my mom telling my friend Andrew that she thought I was bad at sports when I was a child. I was really bad at sports as a child, but word to all parents: Never let your children know you realized how bad they were at their after school activities or they will scowl at you while they put marshmallows on yams. No one should ever have to be unhappy while handling marshmallows.

Thanksgiving is also the official kick off of the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year ™, but is its own special and beautiful day. If you already have your tree up I think you are wrong — GIVE THANKSGIVING ITS SPACE. I tried convincing my roommates of that and we ended up with this:

Brought to us by Intern Raquel, who is also responsible for the box of baby possums picture that haunts my dreams.

This is my second Thanksgiving away from my family, which is rough, but I’m pretty excited about my TG plans. On The Big Day, I’ll be at biodanza — this really spectacular Chile-born dance+movement+breathing+music practice that I found by accident over a year ago. My biodanza group and practice is one of the things about my life in Nicaragua that I am most thankful for, so it is a fitting way to spend Thanksgiving. Then, on Friday, my roommates and I are having friends and family over to eat as much food as humanly possible. Drunk chicken, gumbo, mashed potatoes and greens are all on the menu. I probably won’t make green bean casserole (*weeps*) because the ingredients would come out to about $12 here (french fried onions are a made up food, y’all). But I WILL splurge and make my famous apple pie. It is so freaking easy. Here is the recipe as provided by my grandpa’s friend Eileen:

5-7 green apples, cored and sliced
1 c of sugar (more if the apples are really sour)
1/2 t of cinnamon
mix all that together, pour it into a Pillsbury roll out pie crust, throw some slices of butter on there, top it with another crust, sprinkle the crust with sugar, bake at 350 for one hour. Top with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream (or some inferior brand of vanilla I guess if you’re into that). ENJOY.

What are y’all thankful for this November? What are your plans for the most blessed, gluttonous holiday weekend? If you’re not celebrating Thanksgiving for political reasons or because you live somewhere other than the U.S., tell me about your life! Show me your face! I can’t wait. xoxo

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