they're coming. the holidays, that is

you know, i'm usually on the "it's too early to start celebrating the holidays!" train.  like, when those starbucks red cups come out and it's barely halloween.  or the christmas decorations start popping up in the aisles at target and we haven't even carved the thanksgiving turkey yet.  most years, i find myself keeping the holidays at arm's length, and i don't even know why.  i mean, i adore the holidays.  it really is the best time of the year.  maybe it's because they just keep coming faster and faster, which also means i'm just getting older and older that much quicker.

but for some reason, this year the hub decided a solid two weeks ago that the house of wan was going to be touched by holiday magic as early as possible for 2015.  homeboy was in the holiday spirit in a big way.  the moment he took down the halloween decorations outside, he trucked his happy ass right up into the attic and started busting out the boxes of christmas decorations.  the one sad little box of thanksgiving gear never even made it out this time around.

we do have at least one thing out for thanksgiving though, thanks to MIL.  she'd gone to trader joe's and picked up this cute little set for the girls to work on over the weekend:

here's what was inside the box - just about everything needed to make that gingerbread turkey come to life.

while i was having my sewing extravaganza, they huddled in the kitchen and mixed up a batch of royal icing.  the kit included a recipe that incorporated vinegar and lemon juice, which sounded a little weird to me.  so instead, i gave them instructions on how to make a basic royal icing the way i do it, and it turned out just fine.

apparently someone got hungry and the poor turkey lost its head and feet.  instead, it ended up looking more like a thanksgiving peacock:

MIL and the bean then headed to michael's and stocked up on crafting supplies and created a "decorate your door" contest.  it was fun to watch them scurry around creating their masterpieces and working on holiday-izing their bedroom doors, with christmas music in the background courtesy of a local radio station that kicked off their all-christmas-all-the-time gig.  yup, a full three weeks before thanksgiving.  perfect.

since MIL has been here with us so much over the last couple of months, we won't be seeing her again until 2016.  she and FIL decided last year that for the first time since moving to texas, they'd be staying home for christmas.  they'd never seen what the holidays are like in their new hometown, and with brother wan and his fiancee also staying put in kentucky for work reasons, it looks like the only way we'll be spending any part of the holidays together for 2015 will be via facetime.

and so on the day before she flew back home, i thought it'd be kind of nice to celebrate an early thanksgiving with her.  while she was out at the gym with her morning routine, i scurried around between several grocery outlets and picked up the makings for a turkey dinner.  since it was just going to be the five of us, i opted for turkey breast instead of a whole bird.  i didn't have the 8-12 hours you usually want to brine the turkey before baking, but i figured that since it was a smaller portion anyway, 5 or 6 would have to do.

as soon as i had that turkey in the brine, i did my usual housecleaning routine and then went into the buffet and took out the china.  our poor wedding china has probably only been used a small handful of times in the nearly ten years we've had it.  and since we were making this a special occasion, it was coming out to play.

MIL was pretty surprised when she got home and found the table all set, and when i told her what we were up to, the look on her face was worth all of the effort.

by the time everyone all got home from work and school and such, i had it all done.  yeah, it's not a very thanksgiving-y tablecloth, but the colors worked.  and our thanksgiving peacock added a fun little decorative touch down at the end.

selfie stick FTW!

i was pleased to see that everything i'd slaved over in the kitchen turned out so nicely.  the turkey was really good, the bean was over the moon to see that there was sweet potato casserole, and the old lady was excited for her beloved green bean casserole.  all in all, everyone's favorites were covered:

looks like i'm embracing the holidays too.  bring it on, santa.

the way to my heart…is snacks

so although i've been doing my very best to resist the incredibly early holiday-themed everything that's already been out for weeks, a visit to target totally broke me. i mean, come on. aisles and aisles of stuff like this:

(don't get those, by the way. gross)

also, these. we already know i'm a total sucker for salted caramel anything. 

these are a limited-time offer, and it sounds like you can only find them at target. but be warned: this bag is minuscule. like, it's about the size of one of those bags you'd put in a kid's lunch.  and at $3.49 for the bag…well, at least they're tasty.  not as pretty as in that picture by far, but honestly who cares?  yum.

and then there's this.  okay, it's just gum.  i know.  but it's CANDY CANE flavored gum (i.e., uh, peppermint).  with cute little candy canes printed right on each piece!  come on!

last year, i found these in the clearance section.  i figured it was just plain ol' mint flavored chapstick, yeah?  but no!  candy cane chapstick is lovely and minty and tingly on the lips.  so delightful.  i'd picked up two of the 3-packs and somehow managed to make them last all year long.  i'm on my very last stick, so i literally squealed with glee when i found them again in the checkout stand.

on the way out, i decided i needed to stop at starbucks for a pick-me-up.  i'd already shaken my fist at what seemed like a stupidly early release of the annual holiday red cups, but since i always get my drinks iced anyway, it didn't really matter.  except this year, the 'bux actually showed some holiday love to the cold cups too.  yippee!

now with thanksgiving falling so late in the month, the holiday season is totally going to fly by because it'll be shorter than usual.  as the teen put it, i'm going to embrace it now because if i wait until after the turkey's been gobbled up (heh) to get into the spirit, it'll be over before i have a chance to really enjoy it.

okay, fine.  you win, holidays.  you feel better now?

pre-thanksgiving turkey day

it's been a while since i did a disneyland-related post, right?  right??  heh.

whatever.  we actually went for two whole weeks without visiting the parks, and so when i found us with nothing to do on tuesday - well, it wasn't hard to figure out how to remedy that little issue.  plus, i'd had a rough time with my training run that morning and so it was nice to do something cheerful for both me and the bean.

we've been trying to hit up different things during our visits - stuff that we either have never done or rarely get to do.  this has been a fun mission for us, and because the bean is rather set in her routine of things she must see or do when at disneyland or california adventure, it'll probably take us all year to accomplish our goal.  i'm okay with that.

although i'm extremely anti-christmas/holiday anything until after thanksgiving (respect the turkey, man!), it was hard not to get swept up in the holiday cheer here.  it was only the second day of the fun decorations and giant tree being up, so hey - when in disneyland, do as the mouse does, right?

as we headed down main street towards the castle in all its glory, we found that the entrance was blocked off by cast members and people were gathering around for...something.  we managed to find a spot in front, and a few seconds later an announcement came over the speakers - the disneyland band and mickey were coming to perform right in front of us.  the bean was stoked to hear this.

because we were off to the side, i didn't get any decent shots.  it's okay.  imagine a handful of older gentlemen in full band regalia standing in a circle playing disney music while mickey and pals prance around and wave at the crowds.  you get it, right?

as soon as it was over, we headed into fantasyland with the intent of checking out the holiday-ified "it's a small world" ride, but found ourselves distracted by the storybook land boats.  the bean hadn't been on this ride before because it was always closed down for parades when we tried before, so we got in line.  her favorite part was riding through the whale's mouth.  "look at his teef, mommy!"

then attempt #2 at "small world" was again foiled when she decided that what she really wanted to do was go to mickey's house and visit him.  so into toontown we went, bypassing the rather long line to see minnie right next door, and found ourselves with a mere 10-minute wait to meet the mouse.

but of course, she wanted to say "what up" to his galpal.  the line was still long, but it moved fairly quickly.  and it was hilarious to watch and listen to her and the little girl in the line behind us - they traded the basic info (name, age, favorite color) and monkeyed around on the handrails all the way up to the front of the line.

inside minnie's house, they insisted on taking a photo together.  i never did ask if they were local, and so i'm thinking this is the last time these two will ever lay eyes on each other.  anybody know this little one?  hook us up - the bean asked me the rest of the day where her friend was, and if they could play some more.

we visited goofy's house, donald's boat, and sat on the "jolly trolley" for about five minutes before we finally learned that it didn't go anywhere.  heh.  and then finally, it was time for "small world," all dressed up for the holidays.  the bean was absolutely entranced - so much so that we got right back on when it was over.

as with most disney rides, it conveniently lets you out right into a souvenir shop - typically themed after the activity you just enjoyed.  here, the bean decided to add some stuff to her ever-growing christmas wish list.

in an effort to save some dough, i'd packed us some sandwiches and snacks into my backpack.  as we headed through the park and across the way into california adventure to see the disney junior show for the bajillionth time, we munched on our tasty tidbits and chatted about what else we'd be seeing before heading home.  i'd made her a deal - we'd go to everything she wanted to see, but we'd leave the stroller in the car.  and i could tell she was hitting bottom by the glazed look in her half-mast eyes.  but we have a "1 treat per day" rule at the parks, and so she savored this as we waited in line for the show:

i picked up a treat for myself on our way out, too.  i sampled it and then wrapped it up into a plastic bag to enjoy on the way home.

the double-takes and incredulous glances i got from other drivers as i zoomed along in the carpool lane were hilarious.  the bean was passed out in the back while i munched, danced in my seat and pointed and gestured with my turkey leg in hand. 

best. ride. home. ever.

the holidays have officially begun

thanksgiving was celebrated at the ILs' home up in the mountains this year. it was nice to bust out sweaters and uggs and get all snuggly and stuff.

when we got up there, it WAS quite chilly, and it was nice to walk into the house and see this:

and then my tummy growled at the sight of this (yes, enchiladas are always, inexplicably, part of traditional thanksgiving dinner with the wans):

immediately followed by the smell of all this:

the bean got a "happy thanksgiving" present - a cabbage patch doll in her very own stroller, which she was happy to push around the living room. MIL also busted out some toys, including this fun relic (from 1985!). i pulled the string and giggled at the safety-related topics.

"i never cross the street by myself. i always wait for a grown-up to take me."
"never take candy from a stranger. just say "no" and walk away."
"i don't play with electric things. they could hurt me!"
and so on.

and the teen wasn't left out - MIL slipped some cash in her pocket. you can see what she thought of that.

just before we started chowing down:

along with cut-up turkey, green beans, and a taste of sweet potatoes, the bean (with her festive turkey bib on) feasted on her own version of thanksgiving dinner.

i enjoyed my holiday coke and the teen snacked on some olives, just like she used to do when she was six. heh.

afterwards, as she sank down into the couch in a tryptophan-induced coma, the teen perked up considerably at the football game on tv. but not because she particularly enjoys watching grown men dressed in tights and pads, beating each others' asses in frigid temperatures. oh, no. it was the upcoming halftime show that caught her interest and rendered her absolutely useless. behold:

meanwhile, the bean amused herself by "cleaning" the sliding glass door:

the teen has taught her well. when those brothers jonas took the stage at last, she made a beeline for the tv and was absolutely transfixed.

and then the entire house cracked up as she danced along.

the teen was quite proud of her little sister. and you know what tomorrow is, right? of course you do. and you know you can't wait for the recap. let's just hope that everybody's short, and the teen and i will be able to actually see the stage. say a little prayer for my sanity tomorrow at about 5, will ya? kthxbai.

dessert time! i made these peanut blossom cookies, while the hub's gram brought homemade cheesecake with cherry topping, along with pumpkin and french apple pies. this is the BEST cheesecake EVER, and i was happy to see that that dreadful cherry crap was optional. they're always so thoughtful.

the hub's gram cracked us up when she announced that she'd be hitting up jcpenney at 5am the next morning - "i need new underwear DESPERATELY, and i always wait for the day after thanksgiving to buy it. it goes on sale!"

the hub does NOT believe in getting up early for black friday sales. actually, neither do i. i hate big crowds, pushy bitches, long ass lines, and coming to blows over parking spots and the last pink sweater in my - er - someone else's - size. in fact, from now until about mid-january, i'll be avoiding retail stores as much as i possibly can. all my christmas shopping will be done online, and if i do need to enter any brick-and-mortar stores, it'll be during the day when it's less crowded. ah, the joys of being a SAHM.

sooo...thanksgiving? check! now that we've paid our respects to the turkey (um, well, before we ATE him), we've got the green light to commence with the christmas decorating. yee-haw! it's the most wonderful time of the year.