Recapping the week that was.

I am having trouble finding the words I need.  This past week was probably the best week ever. 

Lemme take it from the top.

In the midst of a busy Black Friday weekend, my ambitious Wifey decided to have some friends over for dinner.  It was just a small gathering of 10 people.  This was the first large scale entertaining we have ever done. Sure, we have had the proverbial cookout, but a cookout is a little different than a Thanksgiving dinner.  Cooking some burgers on a grill.....preparing a turkey for roasting.  3 pounds of flesh...20 pounds of flesh.

Thanksgiving is 10x harder, especially when you have a hardheaded wife determined to do it all herself.  For those who followed her Twitter Feed that day, thanks for the encouraging words, because she did a fantastic job.  The only thing I can take credit for is the turkey.  She cooked everything from the corn pudding to the pumpkin pie. 

Here are just a few shots from the evening.

[The Turkey.  Salt Water Brine.  Coated in a pound of butter.  Seasoned with salt and pepper and filled with apples and onions and celery and NEVER BASTED]

[The guests. L-R: The Wife, Jenn P, Pat, Julie, the Audrey, Devon, Brendan, Josh, Carrie, and Lee]

So with the big dinner out of the way, next on the social calendar was dinner with Josh and Carrie on Wednesday.  I wrote about that experience here.  I can't say enough good things about that night.  I was so proud of Audrey.  She is really coming into her own and becoming quite the foodie. 

Now the next day, I committed myself to a fundraiser at The Greenhouse Tavern.  I wrote about that night here.  Again, I can't say enough great things about THAT night either.  I met so many like-minded people it made my head spin.  My Twitter following has nearly doubled as a result of that evening, and I continue to get photos in my inbox about that night.  Here are a few of the latest photos I got from Blog it Forward, #cocktailsforanissa. 

[Chef Symon, Carrie, Chef Josh, and Wifey]

[The Chef and The Chef talking about what chefs talk about]

Now today we have another night out.  3 nights out in one week.  How exciting my life has become!  Anyway, I won tickets from work to see A Christmas Carol at Playhouse Square this afternoon.  Can't wait to make it out to the theater, it's been a very long time. 

So that is the week that was.  This isn't the most entertaining post I have had, but I am so damn tired from this week, I need to take a nap!

Let's hope the next few weeks are just as awesome as this past week was!

Thanksgiving plans and an Invitation

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

How does one who works in retail answer that?  Do they think they are going to get a crazy awesome story on how they go through Thanksgiving with a smile on their face and a thankfulness that they have the long weekend to stay at home and veg out, maybe do some Christmas shopping?

No.

My plans for Thanksgiving [as of right now] are to get up extra early to start prepping the bird for the oven.  Then I go through the day, glad to have the family and friends over, and I listen to everyone else make plans for shopping, hanging out, and sleeping in all weekend.  My plans are not nearly as exciting.  I will kick my family out of the house around 8-ish so that I can get to bed early, because my alarm is going to be going off very very early in the morning so I can get to work the next day by 5:30am. 

I work in retail.  While many families may go out and have their Christmas shopping bonanza, Christmas decoration hanging parties, and singing with canned laugher and happy Christmas Carols, I am at work, listening to the same 15 Christmas tunes our Musak will play over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.....

You forget about the workers in retail this time of year. You see us all as punk kids working their way through college without a vested interest in you.  You think we don't care.  You think we are there to abuse. 

"Do you know how long I stood outside?" or "Do you know how long I waited?"  you'll say.  In the back of my head I want to shake you and tell you that there is more to life than shopping on Christmas, and that you take yourself WAY too seriously.  But nontheless I won't.  I will smile, apologize for your wait, and give you my undivided attention.  I take it upon myself to make sure your family has a nice Christmas present, and I ask you a lot of questions to make sure that the product you pick out is going to make your little Johnny smile in delight and tell you that you are the best mother/father in the world.  I am going to take your snide remarks, your shit eating grins, and overall grumpiness, and let it roll off my back, because frowns don't sell people, I sell people.

We are a week from Thanksgiving here in America.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Oh and I am looking for a few good bloggers.  Because I am going to be pulling some crazy hours next week, I would like to have you guest post throughout the weekend.  Shoot me over an e-mail at throwing25s [at] gmail [dot] com.  There is no theme, but I would love to have you on.  Just let me know if you want to come on and blog.  I have 5 spots open starting on Black Friday to December 1st.