Happy Post-Thanksgiving!

Hello all! I hope this post finds each of you doing really well after an enjoyable and fulfilling Thanksgiving Day. I’m just sitting around here enjoying a few days off from work with the dogs and family. For most of Thanksgiving Day, I sat around in my backyard enjoying a most enjoyable (though slightly chilly) day in Louisiana, letting the dogs roam the backyard, and snapping pictures.

Toby and Gabby enjoyed the hours of unfettered freedom in the backyard. I must admit that I did too. Work has been super busy lately. I’m not one much to talk about my work life online. It’s just not smart or too appropriate in most cases. But in some cases, it is okay to mention a few things. Work has kept me away from this blog in November. And while super busy, it is nothing to complain about. It is all in preparation for a new position I’m taking in January, and part of the time has been training my replacement. It’s an exciting, busy time, and I’m enjoying every second of it. So to those of you I owe prizes to from the October giveaway I apologize. Prizes are going out on Monday! I promise! (Or immediately following on Tuesday!) LOL!

Toby showed his appreciation for the day by offering up this most amazing picture to me. I remember taking it. I remember he was doing something (yawning possibly, I don’t remember now) I was trying to capture. But I missed it, and instead got the tail end of his motion. And when I saw the resulting picture, I cracked up and give him lots of praise and a big ol’ head rub (which Toby loves). Maybe he meant to make that face…I don’t know. If he did, he is certainly enjoying some sort of hilarious private joke…most likely at my expense (and most likely one told to him by Gabby).

And speaking of the blonde-haired diva…

For a dog whose sole occupation is deciding if she would prefer to laze around on the couch or on my bed, she was decidedly mobile and fast Thanksgiving Day. Cool weather does that to her every year. If I had to bet for her, I would say that the months of late October through early April are some of her favorites. Cooler weather in Louisiana makes her happy (though decidely more likely to burrow under lots of covers in the house).

Anyhow, the weather made her decidedly frisky and wanting to play. She and Toby did laps around the yard. They tried to chew each other’s faces off (typical daily warfare). And then, she repeatedly tried to stampede me. I warned her Santa would only bring her coal for Christmas. But she ignored me. I think she plans to give the coal to my mother’s new dog, Dodger. You could probably eat through a sack of coal, or diamonds, if you gave it to him. That dog has a serious set of jaws.

After spending a fun morning with the dogs, I went off to my cousin’s house for the family feast. I didn’t take pictures of the food. It’s just too difficult with the amount of people in my family. And not everyone was there! What I should have done was taken a picture of a few plates. Ah well, notes for next year. There was a plethora of food though: turkey, roast beef, ham, cranberry salad, strawberry salad, fruit salad, a fruit turkey (made of melon, strawberry, grapes and cheese), cornbread dressing (which some cousins wait all year for), green beans, deviled eggs, and a lot more I can’t remember. The highlight for me was the ham my mother made. Deliciousness. I wish I had some leftovers of that.

Since it was such a pretty day outside, my cousin had made a lovely place for us to eat outside. Many of us trooped out there to enjoy the day and talk while we ate. I took the opportunity to snap a few family pics and this is one I wanted to share. Please say hello to Cree, my brother’s significant other. She’s my camera buddy, has an amazing Flickr photostream, and is all around interesting.

Interesting despite the fact she shoots with the other team: Canon. LOL! That should get a rise out of a few Canon folks that might read my blog. LOL! I’m a Nikon girl. Love my Nikon. But in all honesty, I was almost a Canon girl. Cree has one of the Digital Rebels, and it takes some amazing pictures. That and she’s better at Photoshop than I am.

Thanksgiving Day is over. It was a ton of fun. In two days, I have to go back to work and get back to the grindstone. In the meantime, I am overly enjoying these few days off. They are giving me time to contemplate who gets what for Christmas this year. Gabby is helping me. See her intent stare? Though I can’t say she’s made any viable suggestions other than: More Milkbones!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend everyone! I hope your weekends are as fabulously relaxing and that you get done everything you want to accomplish this weekend. Feel free to tell me how things are going for you in the comments section.