TODAY: SLOTH

You hear about this Tryptophan:

Tryptophan is an amino acid found in turkey and other foods that helps the body produce niacin, a B-Vitamin, which helps produce serotonin, which makes you sleepy.

But is it really true?  Because honestly, turkey is not the only thing on my plate at Thanksgiving!  I've got a load of other stuff, such as potatoes, bread, cranberries, sweet potatoes, broccoli, green bean casserole.  I think its all a lie, and honestly its because we eat like there is no tomorrow or that we will starve, that we stuff ourselves and get tired.  Well, whatever happened yesterday, my wonderful husband said he would get up and do the cores in the morning.  I said, "really?"  and totally took advantage of it!  I slept til 11 am!  and it was awesome!  I love the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas because this is what i do: I sloth!  Like a sloth, like a slug, I sit all day and do nothing.

Now you insane, crazy people that get up early and go shopping on what America has deemed "Black Friday" are just victims of the media, and all i can do is feel sorry for you.  (and there is a reason for the term 'black' its usually associated with evil!) You are missing out on something that is worth way more then any $10 savings on a sweater that nobody really wants anyway!  And MY TIME, MY SANITY, MY HEALTH is WAY more important and valuable then waking up early (first mistake), being pushed around in crowds (second mistake), and hoping to get a good bargain (third mistake).  Not only are these not bargains, they are just a bait and switch to get you to spend more money in their stores.  Really, who needs or wants an electronic checkbook?  Who uses a check book any more anyway?  Or a cuddle up? Or a slapchop? Holidays are not about giving, they are about receiving; receiving the love of family, and friends and being together, being grateful.  I don't need another small item that takes up a spot in the bathroom and that in reality just turns out to be another thing i have to clean or dust.  I don't need another way to make waffles, or another way to prepare a cup of coffee, or another pair of slippers. I just want to be with you and around you, sharing your life and experiences.

So if anybody asks:  this year the only thing i want for Christmas is you! That's what all my animals say daily:  I just want to be with you.

By the way, turkey actually contains the lowest levels of Tryptophan.  Scallops contain the most.  So maybe next year I will serve scallops for Thanksgiving, then have a real excuse for my sloth-iness.

11/25/10 - THANKSGIVING DAY

tIts turkey day! Another silly holiday where families get together because they feel they have to, they eat WAY too much food, maybe even fight, and then pass out on the couch or watch football games or something like that.  Seems to me to be the epitome of American sloth and gluttony! Never been something very special to me, although since the year we arrived here, knowing that many people think of it as a holiday that is seeped in tradition, and honored by families, we offered up our home to students, friends or others that were orphaned for the day.  Those that had no family near by or that didn't necessarily want to be around them.

Here in our house, we set up the table all fancy with my finest china (not really - its a set of dishes from Kmart i got years ago) that i only bring out on Thanksgiving day; my mothers old chest of fancy silverware, and the goblets reserved for this day too. They all have a home located up in the top of the cabinet in the kitchen. They sit there for 364 days a year, wasting space and getting dusty.

Then we prepare a meal fit for a thousand, share in a toast of good cheer, and be grateful for having such wonderful friends and companions.  Each year, in leu of grace, we go around the table and say at least one thing that we are grateful for. One year, Madison said, "Clean underwear."  Honestly, that is something one should really be grateful for on a daily basis.

This year, we had a small gathering, just me, Bob, Madison and our friend Justin.  We made a smaller version of a turkey, and all the fixin's.  Then we watched the Jody Foster directed movie, Home for the Holidays starring Holly Hunter and Morton Downey Jr. I forgot how funny that movie really is!

Sam and her boyfriend, Mike, came by later after her two visits to her boyfriend's family's houses and had pie with us.

It was a beautiful day and perfectly small.  No gluttony or sloth.