giving thanks extravaganza

this week is thanksgiving and in the spirit of the holiday, i’m going to run down the top 20 things i am most thankful for this year.  I know it’s early, but i may forget on the day (and i need to kill some time before its lunchtime)

These are in no particular order after #1.

1. my husband, the Brit – he’s my rock and my sanity and he makes me unbelievably happy. and he can iron a mean bedsheet.

2. my job. i’ve been reading a lot about the financial troubles in the US and around the globe and i am so very thankful that I am secure

3. Barack Obama – he makes it cool to be american again

4. Turkey – it tastes so yummy

5. Wii- for endless hours of diversion while waiting for the husband to come home from work

6. Friends here and across the ocean – you know who you are

7. My family

8. Online shopping from America

9.  Knowing that I am loved

10.  My work mates – they make work not seem like work

11. Fluffy blue dog slippers

12. Flannel gnome pajamas

13. Being able to travel home to America/London to visit family

14. My family being cool enough to actually warrant a visit

15. Long distance calling cards

16. Nintendogs

17. Ballet flats – comfortable but yet stylish as well

18. Always having enough

19. Feeling safe

20. Yakitori (mmm, lunch time now).

more turkey.

so i told the husband about the need for a 75 pound turkey and wondered whether i should call the butcher to ask for a bigger one.  he told me that i must’ve mucked up someplace or forgotten to put a decimal place somewhere and that our turkey would be just fine.

drama averted. for now.

it’s great to see that people have started reading this and i’m glad that my blog provides some sort of diversion whiilst at work. it’s a win-win situation if you ask me.  it gives me something to do…after i’m done googling myself (again).

i went to bed at 9pm last night and i’m still sleepy today. i’m not quite sure what’s up with that. could be the weather. it’s grey and cold here – bleh, i thought it was supposed to be summer. very depressing. i’m thrilled that today is friday and i look forward to a weekend of doing nothing except shopping for thanksgiving supplies though admittedly, most of thanksgiving will be coming from a box.  i have not the desire to be martha stewart this year and make little turkey placeholders with pipecleaner and glitter.  there’s an american supermarket in the suburbs and i’ve ordered most of my supplies there. i suppose i could’ve taken a trip out there but it involved a tram, a train and perhaps another tram and that’s too much for me to process so thank goodness for online shopping.

this is the time when i wish i were in america. i’ve always liked thanksgiving – though my family can do my head in after a while. all families are like that i suppose. i miss the atmosphere, the drunken pettiness among family members, the anticipation of the christmas season, and not having to cook the turkey myself. all stuff i took for granted.

it’s fun doing it here though. educating the aussies about the first thanksgiving, pilgrims, indians, blankets with smallpox…it’s all part of american history. i could be cruel and make people dress up like pilgrims (aussies do love a good costume party). there’s always next year.

i learned a new aussie word the other day – “fairdinkum.” i think it means “for real!?” (but i don’t really know).  i said the other day to a colleague ”i saw a lady on the tram this morning with a beard,” aussie colleague replied with ”fairdinkum.” (i actually don’t know whether to follow that up with a full stop, exclamation or question mark).  i wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.  was he asking me a question?  is “fairdinkum” the aussie word for woman with a beard? i didn’t want to appear unhip so i just smiled and nodded my head in an ambiguous way.  i asked husband about it when i got home and he was amazed that i never heard it before.  well, i learn something new every day.

“i may die from love”

that was a line from an opera we saw last night (madama butterfly).  they certainly were cheesy back then.  i’ve actually written that line down.  I may use it in a valentine’s day card to the husband.  I’ll be sure to end it with “!!!!!!!” to add extra emphasis. maybe underline “die” a few times.

opera was lovely and i was pleasantly surprised as i went in with low expectations. i enjoyed the whole experience – i even didn’t mind the little old dear sitting next to us  – it took her the entire second act to unwrap a piece of candy from cellophane. 

i’m really sleepy today and find myself bored out of my mind at work because (a) there is no work to be done and (b) there is no more election to obssess over.  my manager caught me googling myself yesterday (another slow one) and proclaimed that i was the biggest loser he has ever known (like he’s never done it). i just had a mild curiosity… and as i suspected, i am nowhere to be found (thank goodness).

next i googled “thanksgiving turkey” to see if the one i ordered is big enough to feed the group we have coming and i had to do some sort of calculation with different factors including whether it was fresh or frozen, boneless (i’ve never met a turkey with no skeleton), etc.  once i had done my sums, i realised that i needed to have ordered a 75 pound turkey… so i’m thinking i mucked up somewhere.  i think that the answer is “no” so i’ll make extra pie.

oh, and because of this election thing,  it’s so great being an american! before, when asked, i’d say i was an american to which most people would snicker and proceed to ask me “what’s up with george bush?” how am i supposed to know?  he hasn’t been inviting me to camp david since i moved here so i don’t know. it got to the point where i said i’m canadian. but now when i say i’m american, people practically hug me and thank me for electing barack obama.  if only i had the power to elect people to office.  martin sheen would be president. yes i can.