gobble gobble y'all all up...thanksgiving gratitudes 2008

1. was picked up from the airport by sweet man! he was so cute and supportive about my short hair. and honestly, he was the only critic who i hoped to please.

2. laughed in the car with eddie when he said he recognized me under all my winter layers, only by my shiny shoes. i figure if the rest of me is all bundled up, i might as well keep my feet lookin' fancy!

3. went "shopping" in my mom's kitchen. she is the queen of thrifting, and she has been collecting a plethora of cooking utensils-wooden rolling pins, pyrex cookware, hotel silver, restaurant china, tea cups and saucers, tea kettles, baby spoons, silver serving platters, kitchen timers, etc. and the list goes on and on and on. every piece she showed me i wanted to keep. if only new york apartments had just a teensy bit more space! but then again, if you give a mouse a cookie...

4. caught up with a long lost, childhood friend. i have not seen laura thwaite in at least four years and it seemed just like old times. the majority of my most humorous childhood memories involve her and her family. being in their house felt like childhood. same smells. same gaggle of puppies (five dogs, and two new editions!!!!!). same naughty southern sense of humor. same trophy collection of taxidermied animals shot on their property (and a new collection of turkey beards). same family i spent 3/4 of my life with. rabbit. uncle tiger. laura. little zach. it's funny how deceptive time is. and how fortunate i am to be able to stop by their house years later and feel like it was only yesterday.

5. ate the most delicious thanksgiving meal prepared by my mother. she has been doing this for our family for over 40 years. i've only been around for 24 of it, and that seems like an eternity. i can't believe how lucky my family is to have a mother who has been doing this entirely all by herself for so long. one day that will be me...i hope i can recreate some of her magic.

6. received photos from the white house visit with the president, courtesy of lisa branch! i am so proud of my big sister. she is honored in an official book from this administration, called (or nicknamed, i'm not sure...) "the plum book". she worked so hard and with an incredibly loyalty to her party. whether or not we are on the same political page is irrelevant. i will always admire her dedication and passion to her time at the white house. and we have pictures that i will be sure to scan and post later!

7. listened as my mother, father, and sister, dug into their archives of favorite inspirational quotes after dinner. each one, pulled from a different source. my mother keeps hers collaged in a scrapbook of sorts; my father neatly prints his on the lines of a ruled notebook; lisa stores hers in a blackberry. in high school i had filled sketchbooks and notebooks with quotes upon quotes, and felt compelled to start every homeroom morning by scribbling one in the corner of the chalkboard. and how kind my classmates were to humor me! i love a powerful quote.

8. watched a river runs through it with eddie. i just love this move (and the short story). i kept swooning over the beautiful script, cinematography, costumes... and cute, young brad pitt. i first saw this film in the theater, with my father, on a school night. randomly i mentioned after dinner one night that i really wished we could go see a movie, and he obliged! i always remember this movie fondly, as one of our father/daughter bonding moments. and i really adore the way every single person dresses in it. i love me some 1920s great depression attire...

9. had the loveliest lunch with eddie, momma stelling, and my mother. we ate cute n fancy mexican food and discussed wedding details. poor eddie...wedding talk is definitely more fun for girls! i'm so lucky to have two women who have made the planning so easy and stress free.

10. spent some quality time with the stelling clan at their house. i have adored this family since i set my sights on ed in eighth grade. i love them all. his parents. daniel and john. pop. his aunts and uncles. his cousins. laney and riley. they have made me feel so welcome since day one. just the nicest, most charming family. from all parts of the family tree. and i have happily become a u.g.a fan (much to my father's chagrin). but go dawgs.

11. noticed a new buckhead tradition of parents displaying wetminster helmet posts in their yards. the stellings have their #24 helmet proudly showcased on the front lawn. i will always love that number. ed was the first to pick that number, and his brothers followed suit, keeping it a stelling boy tradition. i always fondly think of the posters i used to brandish wildly at games on friday nights.

" #24 on the field, # 1 in my heart" "rock steady eddie" "knock 'em dead ed" ... i have always loved that boy.

and i love my mom and dad and sister(s) and cat and my big fat dog(s).

to kristie and rankin, my favorite atlanta girls, i will see you in december...