Turkey day came and went...

We had a very successful Thanksgiving! Thanks to everyone who contributed. Wednesday night we put the turkey in the brine overnight, washed and peeled potatoes, washed green beans, made the cranberry relish and blue cheese spread, and set the table. Thursday we put the Turkey in and everyone came over. We had music playing and a slideshow of Paris pics on the TV. Everyone had a lot of conversation, and then we sat down to eat. The menu?
-Blue cheese spread with pear on crostini as an appetizer
-Wine, Crantini's and beer for drinks (thanks Robert!)
-A delicious, moist and perfectly browned turkey
-Creamy and fattening mashed potatoes
-Green beans and carmelized onions
-Sweet potatoes (Thanks Mom!)
-Stuffing (Thanks Mom!)
-Pumpkin and Apple Pie (Thanks Nancy!)
We had so much fun and it went off without a hitch. Here are just a few pictures of everyone having fun...me in the kitchen, Tom with "the Tom", eating at the table, and Tom and Mike. We wish you all a wonderful, warm and cozy kick off to the holiday season. May it be filled with love, laughter, friendship and all things to be grateful for.

Questions borrowed

So I borrowed this (ok, stole it) from Meg's blog but they are my answers!
Where is your mobile phone? My what? Oh, cell phone. I think in my purse (if you have called there recently I apologize for not getting back to you…)
Where is your significant other? At work
Your hair colour? I think blond but more brown this time of year
Your mother? Has been letting me embark about hosting Thanksgiving for the first time with hardly any intervention! Thanks for the trust, mom!
Your father? Someone who loves unconditionally and fully his family
Your favourite thing? A great outfit
Your dream last night? Can’t recall
Your dream goal? To live in Cordova, AK in the summer and San Diego in the winter
The room you're in? My office at work
Your hobby? Reading, walking, watching movies
Your fear? Small spaces and no way out
Where do you want to be in 6 years? 38 and content
Where were you last night? Watching an episode of The Wire
What you're not? Negative too often…try to keep on the sunny side
One of your wish-list items? A second bathroom
Where you grew up? About 10 blocks from where I live now!
What are you wearing? Jeans, boots, a sweater and a necklace that just got a compliment
Your TV? The Sarah Silverman Show, The Soup, The Wire, The Jon Stewart Show, How I met your Mother
Your pets? Labrador Retrievers Chester and Stanley who can’t stay out the kitchen
Your computer? Slow
Your mood? Excited to have a four day weekend ahead of me
Your car? Something with no car payments and I like that!
Something you're not wearing? Nail polish
Favourite shop? The Tended Thicket on Gaylord St.
Your summer? Went by too fast
Love someone? My husband
Your favourite colour? Aqua and red
When is the last time you laughed? This morning
When is the last time you cried? In Paris overwhelmed by the vastness of the city (and sleep deprived)

It all comes around so fast

I can't believe Thanksgiving is a few days away. Not because I am not ready...I am. I guess every year I forget how much fun this time of year is. I was talking to Jen tonight and we discussed the upcoming four day weekend. I got really excited! The house will be clean for turkey day so I won't have to do that...I don't have any homework anymore...I don't want to go shopping...so I have 3 days of utter, complete bliss!! Jen and I discussed the various movies I could watch...holiday themed movies? The Star Wars series? Some chick flick? Maybe I will go to to a movie alone...or sit at a coffee shope with a good book. This will be delightful!

I remember what Thanksgiving felt like as as college student. I would work the day before and then have Thursday off. After eating dinner with my family, I would go out with friends to the lone bar or restaurant that was still open. I am sure this weekend will be full of leisure and some fun. I just can't wait!

Spine tingling

This morning on Colorado Public Radio I heard a recorded interview with Tom Hooyman who was a healthcare ethics teacher at Regis' healthcare school. He had been named chairman of the Centers for Disease Control Ethics Committee recently. I felt a connection hearing him speak-I have heard him give talks at Regis before-so it was great to hear that he was going to do this very important work.

I was on the Regis Intranet after lunch today and this was posted:
Dr. Tom Hooyman, associate professor of Health Care Ethics in the Rueckert Hartman College for Health Professions, passed away Nov. 20following surgery for injuries he suffered in a motor vehicle accident the day before.

On Colorado Public Radio's website, they have this notice:
Regis University's Tom Hooyman was named chairman of the Centers for Disease Control Ethics Committee recently. He spoke with Ryan Warner. Professor Hooyman died shortly after this interview.

I reflected after reading this on how people touch our lives. Meg recently blogged about the death of one of Mia's teachers. She says, "I really didn't know Mia's teacher all that well, and I cried when I heard the news." It is amazing that people can move each other in this way. You and I may not know whose lives we have touched...that is the most spine tingling of all.

This post is dedicated to all those people who, when thought of, make us feel good, warm, uplifted, cared about, or inspired.

I probably should write something

I realized it has been over a week since I last wrote. Time just goes by so fast and then a week is over! Mike had a Pet Scan on Friday and we met with Dr. Fisher yesterday. Things look great! I expected to hear that though. He did one this month because Dr. Fisher thought he might go to Antarctica but since Mike isn't going it was good to hear some great news anyway. The staff at Dr. Fisher's are so incredible. Many of them remember us and treat us like they are seeing family! Mike was so lucky to be connected to this doctor.

I thought I would post a recent picture of the boys. I took a few before our trip so when we started to miss them we could look at them on the camera. Note Stan's attempt at a smile.



Countdown to Turkey Day. To our guests...you are in for a delicious feast!

What's new...

It took me a while to readjust to life after Paris. When we got back I was in a whirlwind...first trying to catch up at work, then preparing for my assessment to teach, and also getting the house together and back to normal. My good news...I PASSED ASSESSMENT! It really wasn't as bad as I imagined. Next Thursday I go to orientation, and then hopefully I can do the internship in the spring. I am so happy! Right now I am assessing to teach online. It is a week long assessment where there is a discussion forum and such. Want to hear the funniest thing? The person assessing me is my high school English teacher. Yep, he works in Distance Education at Regis. I see him every once in a while...he seems to forget that I am no longer 16 so I am hoping that he sees my writing has improved since then.

Over the weekend Mike and I primed the basement floor...we are finally finishing that project. We forgot to put the baby gate up and upon waking from a lovely, long and luxerious nap we found painted paw prints all over the house. Yikes! You guessed it...our sweet and innocent Stan went down the basement, directly to his food bin (it was obvious the path he took) and upon discovering it was locked he came upstairs. Lovely. Lucky for us the paint came right up, especially off the hardwoods AND newly laid kitchen tile. Stan...gotta love him.

We are hosting Thanksgiving this year. With Mike's and my family we will have 7 people. It is our first real bird (the one mom brought over and put in the oven 7 years ago doesn't count) so you can imagine we are a bit nervous. We went to Williams Sonoma and bought a beautiful roast pan, too beautiful to use! We are also buying other things...a gravy separator, a gravy boat, an internal and external thermometer...we have also divided up the tasks and so everyone is bringing something. We think it should be fun, and are planning in advance some stress management!!

A taste of Paris Pictures

So I can't fill the entire Blog with Paris pictures so here are just a few. I will send along an email to all with more pictures so you can really see what it is like. This first is a picture of Mike and I in front of Musee D'Orsay; the second is me at Versailles (look at that garden behind me!); the third is of Mike and I at a fountain in a park in the Marais neighborhood; the fourth is in the Notre Dame tower of a gargoyle overlooking part of the city (just a part, this city is huge!); the final picture is one of my favorites-in front of the Hotel Invalides (the location of Napolean's tomb) is the Eiffel Tower fading into the fog. I see these pictures now and I really cannot believe we were there!

Back in the US

We came home Tuesday night in time to hear Barack Obama's historic acceptance speech for the presidency. I know not all blog followers of mine supported Barack, but I hope you can at least appreciate the eloquence of our new president, the beauty of the First Family, and the inspiration he brings to not only America but around the world. In Paris, the general consensus was support for Barack; I think the world is ready for his ability to collaborate and not isolate.

We spent yesterday recovering. I got tired at 10:30am as I sat in front of the computer in preparation for Regis' assessment tonight. (Wish me luck). I got a second wind and was able to put stuff away, do laundry, go to the store, and just get caught up. Our trip was so wonderful. I can't believe we were even there! We stayed at a great hotel, a real home away from home. We walked miles and miles (and that is just at the Louvre!). We saw where history happens; we quietly appreciated religious beauty; we travelled with the locals; we ate more bread and cheese than we imagined; we drank wine from the Rhone and Bordeaux valleys; we saw where kings and queens lived; and yes, we listened to Mickey Mouse speak French.

I don't have pictures to post yet-we want to crop some and make them all nice and pretty for the public to view. Look for pictures and some more details in the next week. And excuse me if I accidentally say Bonjour or Merci! Those are two words hard to get out of my system.