Thanksgiving

It was lame not being able to come home for Thanksgiving, but my lovely friend Erica invited me home with her. By the end of the 2 day visit, I felt like part of the family. They were so kind and welcoming. Although they are a much different family than I'm used to, I loved it! I've never seen a family that laughs and jokes so much together. So funny! On the first day, Erica and I got there late and slept in the living room (after a few hours of girl talk of course). That next day we went to lunch with her friend Chandler at one of their favorite diners. It was cute and super country. Everyone knew each other. Then we went to the school where her mom works as a math teacher and the whole family went to see Tangled. Besides it being a fantastic Disney movie, it only cost $4.50 to get in! Oh, and let me depress you Californians even further by telling you that gas is only like $2.70 per gallon!

We watched the Macy's parade that morning which was fun. They had about 20 people over for Thanksgiving dinner and made a ton of food. Apparently macaroni and cheese is a staple over here at Thanksgiving so they had some of that. We also had mashed potatoes, two green bean dishes, stuffing (with cranberries in it!), turkey (duh), yams, rolls, corn, and I can't remember the rest. I was in a food coma after wards from eating so much. Not to mention the carrot cake and pumpkin, apple, and sweet potato pies for dessert! Erica's grandparents adopted me as their grandchild and I had a ball talking with them and hearing their stories. It was such a gift to be able to call someone grandpa and grandma. By the end of the night, Grandpa and I had a special wink that we did with each other whenever we made eye contact. I hope I get to see them again soon.

Thanksgiving feast!

After everyone had gone, we watched the animated version of A Christmas Carol. Then us girls (Erica's sister included) watched Madagascar to help us stay awake for black Friday shopping. We left her house at 1:30 AM and headed to the malls. Ya, we didn't sleep all night and then stayed up until 11 AM...so we were awake for about 26 hours straight! Erica and I blasted girly music in the car to help us stay awake and were pretty loopy. We went to lots of stores and I stocked up on bath and body works. I scored on some major deals there. We went to IHOP for breakfast around 8 AM and were so delirious and hungry that we probably looked like crazy people. At one point, Erica spit water out of her mouth because she was laughing. We quit at about 10:30 AM and I went home and slept until 6 PM.

I also picked up some red Christmas lights and put them up in my room to get into the spirit. It felt like Christmas after I did that and watched Elf and The Santa Clause. I miss my family and the traditions that are changing, but at least I won't miss out on Christmas!